The Operation Riptide update to Valve’s 5 vs 5 tactical shooter makes a plethora of changes to the game’s multitude of modes. This is in addition to a few balance patches to the game’s economy, along with what’s arguably the biggest change to Dust 2 in recent memory.
This update blocks the visibility of double doors at mid-doors from T-Spawn in Dust 2 – which will be added back to the Competitive map pool with the new operation. With the new update, Competitive matches can last for 16 rounds instead of the usual 30 – which will of course, shorten the match length in a significant way. Players can also drop grenades for teammates to pick up, which should prove to be a monumental change to the game’s proceedings. Riot Shields are also being added to CS: GO’s hostage operations.
Of course, there are a litany of other changes – both big and small. Operation Riptide is changing a lot, which is a great precedent for the future of the game. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is almost a decade old at this point, yet boasts one of the highest player bases in all of Steam. A full rundown of all changes and additions coming to the game with Operation Riptide can be found here.