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CS2 New Sniper Rifle? Everything We Know About the New Gun
Valve may be working on a new weapon for Counter-Strike 2. Dataminers found references to a weapon internally identified as the M14 in files added with the Rush Hour update, including gameplay parameters and paths related to models and animations.
The discovery was shared by insiders aqua and Avi “Thour” Thour on Wednesday, September 23. For now, the M14 cannot be used in-game and was not mentioned in Valve's official patch notes, meaning its presence in the files does not guarantee that the weapon will ever reach public servers.
What Do the Files Reveal About the M14?
The data found in weapons.vdata already contains a surprisingly detailed set of parameters for the M14. The weapon is listed with a price of $4,100, base damage of 115, a 4x headshot multiplier and a $100 kill reward.
The configuration points to a five-round magazine with another five rounds in reserve, using .338 ammunition. It also has an armor ratio of 1.95 and a penetration value of 2.5. While those values suggest the weapon is being configured with strong armor and penetration characteristics, they should not be treated as final damage figures while the weapon remains unreleased.
Other parameters reveal more about how the M14 is currently being tested. The files mark it as a rifle with an aiming mechanic, include values for raising and lowering its sights and indicate that it would leave the aimed view after firing. Its reload configuration also has single-shell reloading enabled, suggesting players would insert rounds individually instead of replacing an entire magazine at once.
The update files go beyond gameplay values. References to a dedicated M14 weapon model and animation skeleton are also present, including paths for weapon_rif_m14.vmdl and an M14-specific skeleton. The current configuration even references the AWP's single-shot sound event, although that could simply be a placeholder used during development.
An early reading of the files suggested the weapon might fire only once before requiring a reload. The more complete configuration instead points to a five-round capacity with individual rounds loaded during the reload. None of these parameters guarantee that the M14 will be released in this form, and Valve could change or remove them entirely before the weapon ever becomes playable.
It Would Be the First New Weapon in Eight Years
If the M14 does make its way into CS2, it would be a rare addition to Counter-Strike. The last new weapon released by Valve was the MP5-SD, added to CS:GO in August 2018 as an alternative to the MP7. Before that, the R8 Revolver debuted in December 2015.
Valve has also not confirmed whether the content is intended for traditional competitive modes, a future game mode or simply internal testing. For now, the only concrete evidence is the set of references found in the update files.
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Featured image credit: TurnBull Restoration
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