How to Watch a Demo in CS2

The return of demos in Counter-Strike 2 was a long-awaited event for the community. While the initial release lacked this feature, the developers have not only brought it back—they have introduced a completely revamped system. The new replay viewer has become more convenient and gained new functions. This guide contains everything you need: from recording and saving demos to managing their playback features.

What is a Demo in Counter-Strike 2 (CS2)

A “Demo” in the context of Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) is a complete recording of a match, allowing players and teams to analyze the past game in detail. It captures the actions of all players on the map: their movement, aiming, weapon and grenade usage.

Demos in Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) are used for:

• Analyzing your own mistakes. Watching a match from your own perspective helps identify aiming errors, poor positions, untimely grenade usage, and wrong decisions in key moments of the round.
• Analyzing tactics and team coordination. Observing the game from a bird’s-eye view allows you to assess team coordination, the effectiveness of strategies, positioning on the map, and the timeliness of support.
• Creating educational content. Streamers, YouTubers, and coaches use demo fragments to create guides, tactical analyses, and visual examples of correct and incorrect actions.
• Resolving controversial moments. A demo serves as an objective tool for resolving conflict situations, for example, checking players for cheating or analyzing controversial referee decisions.

How to Save a Match Demo Recording in CS2

In Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), match recordings in “Competitive” and “Premier Mode” are automatically saved on the game servers. If you wish, you can download these recordings to your computer for later viewing. You can do this directly from the game’s main menu.

1. Launch Counter-Strike 2 (CS2).
2. In the top left corner, click on the “TV” icon.
3. In the left menu, select one of the last 10 matches.
4. Click the “Download” button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

We recommend saving match recordings within seven days. After this period, demos of competitive games will be deleted from the server, and you will see the message: “The recording’s storage period has expired and it can no longer be downloaded.”

How to Watch a Demo Recording in CS2

After successfully downloading the recording (demo), you can proceed to watch it. To do this, perform the following steps in the main menu:

1. In the top left corner of the screen, click on the “TV” icon.
2. On the opened page, go to the “Download Completed” tab located at the top of the screen.
3. In the list on the left, select the match recording you want to watch.
4. To start watching, click the “Watch” button in the bottom right corner.

The match recording will start in viewer mode. Playback control (rewinding, changing speed) will be discussed later.

How to Record a Demo in CS2 via Console

For saving match recordings in “Casual” mode, “Practice”, on workshop maps, or community servers, a separate function is provided. Unlike competitive modes, such demos are not saved automatically — you need to record them yourself during the game.

Using console commands, you can start and stop recording a demo in CS2 in any game mode:

1. Start a match in any CS2 game mode.
2. During the match, open the console (key ` or ~ tilde).
   • If the console doesn’t open, first activate it in the game settings: “Settings” → “Game” → “Enable Developer Console” → select “Yes”.
3. To start recording: enter the command record name (name in Latin characters) and press Enter.
   • From this moment, your demo recording will start. You can close the console.
4. To stop recording: enter the command stop.
   • Your demo recording will stop and save to the Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) game files.

Important points when recording a CS2 demo via console:

• Your computer may lag for a few seconds when starting the recording.
• You can only name the demo using numbers or Latin letters (English).
• The demo may not save if there is insufficient free space on the hard drive.

Where CS2 Demos Are Stored on the Computer

Saved and recorded demos are stored in the Counter-Strike 2 file folder on your computer. If the game is installed in the default folder, the path will be as follows:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo

• Demos recorded manually using console commands should be located in:
  ✅ Counter-Strike Global Offensive → game → csgo
• Demos from competitive matches should be stored in the replays folder:
  ✅ Counter-Strike Global Offensive → game → csgo → replays

Demo files have the extension .dem at the end. For example, a file named csgamer.dem is a match recording in Counter-Strike 2.

How to Play a Demo in CS2 via Console

To play a demo file (.dem), it must be located or placed in the root folder of Counter-Strike 2. This applies to any recording, including those obtained from other players.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo

After you have placed the CS2 demo in the game files, you can try to launch it via the console as follows:

1. Launch Counter-Strike 2 (CS2).
2. Open the console (key ` or ~ tilde).
3. Enter the command: playdemo name
   • Instead of name, enter the name of the required demo, for example, csgamer.dem and press Enter.

This functionality opens up broad opportunities for analysis: you can study both your friends’ match recordings and professional esports players’ demos.

How to Manage a Demo in CS2

During playback, a playback control interface should appear at the bottom of the screen. If the panel does not appear, enter the command demoui in the console. To hide the interface, execute this command again.

Switching Between Players in the Demo

Switch between players in the demo using the Left and Right Mouse Buttons. When selecting a player, you will see the match exclusively from their point of view.

Watching the Demo in Third Person

Switch between first-person and third-person view using the Spacebar key. In third-person mode:

• Rotate the camera around the player by holding and moving the mouse.
• Press G to lock the camera.

Rewinding Time in the Demo

You can rewind time in a Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) demo in three different ways:

1. Step-by-step Rewind: The ability to rewind backward or forward by 15 seconds using the corresponding buttons.
2. Round Switching: Buttons that allow you to switch between rounds, where each next round starts from the beginning of the round.
3. Player Slider: Use the player slider, similar to those used in internet video players, for quick navigation through the match time.

The timeline marks all kills and deaths of the player you are observing. These markers allow you to quickly jump to key combat moments.

Speeding Up or Slowing Down the Demo

For detailed analysis of game situations in CS2, you can change the playback speed of the demo, both slowing it down and speeding it up.

1. 1. 1/4: Slows down the demo by 4 times.
   2. 1/2: Slows down the demo by 2 times.
   3. 1x: Normal playback speed.
   4. 2x: Speeds up the demo by 2 times.
   5. 4x: Speeds up the demo by 4 times.

1. 8x: Speeds up the demo by 8 times.

Note that speeding up playback increases the load on the system, especially on low-powered computers. This can lead to stuttering, unstable demo performance, or even its crash.

Viewing Through Walls in the Demo (X-Ray)

By default, in viewer mode, the display of player silhouettes through walls (so-called Wallhack, or WH) is enabled. This function can be disabled or enabled using console commands:

• spec_show_xray 1 – enables the display of silhouettes through walls (default mode).
• spec_show_xray 0 – completely disables this function.

How to Disable HUD in a CS2 Demo

To configure the interface in a CS2 demo, use the following console commands:

• cl_draw_only_deathnotices 1 – Enables minimalistic mode: disables all HUD (ammo panel, health, radar, etc.), but leaves the crosshair and killfeed notifications on the screen.
  To return to the standard HUD, use the value 0.
• cl_drawhud 0 – Completely disables the entire interface, including the crosshair and killfeed.
  To restore the HUD display, use the value 1.

How to Download a CS2 Demo via Steam and Without Prime

If the built-in method in CS2 doesn’t suit you, you can download match recordings directly through the Steam client. This method is especially useful for finding and saving specific demos.

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Open the Steam client and go to your profile.
2. On the right side of the profile page, go to the “Games” tab.
3. Find Counter-Strike 2 in the list and click the link “View detailed statistics”. In the dropdown menu, select “Your Nickname: Personal Stats”.
4. Select the game mode of the match you need (Competitive or Premier matches).
5. A list of recent matches and their statistics will appear. Under the image of the played map, click the “Download Recording” button.
6. Choose the save location and wait for the demo download to complete.

Important after downloading:

• The demo will be downloaded as an archive. Extract it before use.
• To view, move the extracted .dem file to the root CS2 folder, as described in the previous instructions.

Demo Not Launching in Counter-Strike 2 (CS2). What to Do?

If for some reason your demo is not launching in Counter-Strike 2 (CS2), use the following recommendations to solve the problem:

• Check the demo file path: Make sure the demo is placed in the correct folder. You might have accidentally placed it in the CS:GO game files folder instead of Counter-Strike 2 (CS2).
• Check the demo name and format: The demo may not launch due to its name or format. Rename the file using a simple English word. Make sure the file extension ends with .dem.
• Demo freezing or interruption: If the demo freezes, interrupts, or closes, update the game files using the “Verify Integrity of Game Files” function in Steam. Restart your computer to completely restart Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) and Steam.
• Problems with saving the demo: If the competitive mode demo is not saving in the main menu, the issue might be related to Valve servers. Check server availability or try downloading the demo later.

If the demo still doesn’t launch, try launching another recording. In extreme cases, reinstalling Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) might be necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Conclusion

The return and significant overhaul of the demo system in Counter-Strike 2 is a powerful tool that the developers have placed in the hands of players. It is now not just a match recording, but a full-fledged platform for analysis and learning.

Do not neglect this tool, and your skills in Counter-Strike 2 will inevitably grow. Good luck in your matches!

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