In China, CS2 is distributed through a separate Perfect World client instead of Steam, registration requires identity verification, and the game's visuals are adjusted to local censorship rules: skulls, skeletons, blood and political symbols are removed from skins, stickers and maps. The gameplay is the same as everywhere else; only the presentation changes. Below are the most notable changes to skins, maps and stickers.
The Perfect World Major in Shanghai in December 2024 was yet another sign of how fast CS2 is growing in China and across Asia. Getting there, however, required the developers to adjust the game repeatedly because of legal restrictions. We have also covered what CS:GO looked like in China.
How skin designs were corrected
The most changes were made to the design of skins. According to Chinese laws, games cannot display skulls, skeletons, blood (which was recolored to black in the game itself), or apocalypse-related symbols. Skulls are quite common in skin designs, and all such images had to be adjusted by the developers. Typically, skulls are replaced with gas masks. This happened, for example, with AWP | Worm God. The alternative design also looks good, but the gas mask clearly does not fit the concept as well.
Sometimes, though, the revised version is just as good. The USP-S | Kill Confirmed, for instance, shows an iron robot head instead of a skull pierced by a bullet, and the splashes flying from it are bright blue instead of crimson. Many players would likely appreciate this version too.
The UMP-45 | Primal Saber also changed due to the ban on images of skeletons: instead of a skull of a prehistoric saber-toothed tiger, an image of the head of a living animal, covered with thick fur, was used. Nevertheless, it looks no less menacing.
However, the changes in the design of the Bloodhound gloves turned out to be rather comical. Instead of a prominent skull on the back of the palm, a dog paw print appeared, looking overly cute and not quite fitting the overall style of the gloves.
What was removed from maps
Many differences also appeared in map design, mainly related to the prohibition of displaying political symbols. Not only were signs depicting skulls and bones removed, but any references to the five-pointed star, sickle, and hammer were also eliminated. Not all changes were gracefully executed; for example, on Cache, the Soviet emblem was removed from a wall but its shadow was left, creating the impression that it simply failed to load. Train's appearance also notably changed.
Arabic inscriptions found on Dust2 and Mirage also drew the censors' attention. Most were replaced with English, and some were simply removed.
One map had to be completely removed due to censorship restrictions. This was Monastery from the "Arms Race" mode. Its design was inspired by Tibetan landscapes. The Chinese government annexed Tibet in the mid-twentieth century, so it's unsurprising that depictions of combat on this territory caused displeasure among the censors.
How stickers were changed
Listing all the stickers that changed due to censorship could take up a lot of space, as skulls and skeletons appear quite often as one of the design elements. Many popular stickers were affected, such as the skeleton disappearing from Aces High and the skull on Headshot Guarantee being typically replaced by a gas mask. Capsules like Sugarface and Warhammer 40,000 were especially affected, as artists had to redo almost every sticker.
Note that China is not the only country where CS2 has been subjected to censorship. For example, until 2018 in Germany, there was a restriction on depicting violence, which meant character models did not die but surrendered: they raised their hands, lay down on the ground, and then disappeared. Loot boxes are restricted in some countries too: in Belgium and the Netherlands case opening is unavailable, while in France cases are opened through the X-Ray Scanner, so you see the item before deciding whether to buy a key.
So players in different countries may run slightly different versions of the game. The differences are mostly cosmetic and do not touch gameplay, so competitive play is not affected. If you like Asian aesthetics without the censorship, see our selection of Chinese-style CS2 skins. Players from China can also pay on LIS-SKINS with WeChat Pay, Alipay and UnionPay, and skins and stickers on the marketplace come in their regular design.
