Valve has updated the CS2 animation system, adding a beta version of Animgraph 2 in the latest update

Valve has released a beta version for CS2, completely replacing the game’s animation system. Animgraph 2 is available for testing, and the changes made to the engine significantly exceed a typical patch.

What Animgraph 2 actually does

The main change is performance: the new system reduces CPU load and network overhead associated with animations. Every third-person animation has been reworked from the ground up, and several have been adjusted based on player feedback. Crouching transitions in mid-air are now smoother in both first- and third-person perspectives, and player height on slopes has been reworked to remain constant regardless of the direction from which you approach the slope. This last change has a direct impact on competitive play: grenade placements on slopes may no longer work as expected, requiring players to relearn how to use them.

Counter-Strafe Animation in Old vs New AnimGraph2 ‼️

> It bends the player model slightly when opposite key is pressed in AnimGraph2. pic.twitter.com/A3IwYKmWI4

— Thour (@ThourCS2) April 1, 2026

Everything else is in the patch

In addition to the animation overhaul, Valve updated the Source 2 engine to the latest version. In terms of gameplay, player occlusion now uses a GPU request to prevent players from clipping through thin walls, where no part of their volume is visible. The audio has also undergone significant changes: landing sounds after jumping are now more pronounced in combat, the C4 now has a new equipment sound, and a bug that caused the DeathCam music to fade out too slowly has been fixed.

It’s only a beta version for now.

Players who want to try it out must manually select the animgraph_2_beta build. Valve makes it clear that the beta version completely blocks access to official servers. This is a testing phase, and Valve asks the community to find bugs before the changes are implemented. Considering every animation in the game has been touched, there’s a lot to find.