Counter-Strike 2’s HUD changes leave players nostalgic for CSGO’s old display

Counter-Strike 2 brought many innovations, but its HUD changes have left players longing for the simplicity of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s iconic interface.

The revamped Counter-Strike 2 showcases a series of upgrades: crisper graphics, retooled maps, and a host of other improvements. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Players have been navigating a minefield of game-breaking bugs, glitches, and other in-game issues.

To their credit, Valve has been on their toes, swiftly addressing some of the glaring issues. The hitbox misalignment debacle and the broken surrender feature? Fixed.

But amid these patches, a glaring omission has left players scratching their heads: the return of the old HUD that clearly displayed the alive player count.

Why is this still missing from CS2?
byu/xSamme20x inGlobalOffensive

A recent Reddit thread threw this issue into the spotlight. “Why is this still missing from CS2?” questioned a community member, who shared an image of CS:GO’s old display.

Counter-Strike 2’s revamped HUD, while sleek, seems to prioritize aesthetics over functionality. Player avatars, health bars, and post-round stats take center stage, relegating the simple counter that tracked how many players were still standing to a small text-only solution near the top of the screen.

The community was quick to join in and agree with the sentiment shared by the original player, with comments like, “It’s so needed. Anyone that has a B&W or faded pfp just looks dead at a glance when they’re alive.” Another chimed in, “I feel like I’ve to focus and spend so much more time ‘counting’ who’s alive. And I know that there’s a ‘5v5’ like text on the middle of the screen but I just can’t get used to it.”

While players brainstorm workarounds, like using the “hide enemy profile pictures” option, players are left wondering: Why fix something that wasn’t broken?