You can play your own music in CS2 without touching the game files: add your tracks to the Steam music library, then control playback during a match through the Steam Overlay (Shift+Tab) without minimizing the game. It only takes one setup: point Steam to your music folders, build a playlist and start it from the overlay. If what you actually want is different music in the menu and on MVP, CS2 has music kits for that.
Note that the steps below were written for the classic Steam client. In the redesigned Steam client (2023), the Music section in Settings and the overlay player may be missing; in that case the fallback is to run any media player in the background and switch tracks with media keys or your headset controls.
The key tool is the Steam Overlay, the Steam interface that opens on top of any game with Shift+Tab.
It shows your friends list, game stats, achievement progress and more, but here it matters as a built-in player that lets you switch tracks, change volume and seek. If your headset has a built-in remote you may not need it, but it helps if you play on speakers or without a media keyboard.
Preparation
To use your own music in CS2, you first set up your folders in Steam once.
Important: this guide does not touch the game files, so there is no risk of an account ban.
First, open the Steam app and go to Settings. Near the bottom you will find the "Music" section, which you will configure.
First of all, you need to delete a couple of standard folders where Windows stores audio files by default. They are usually empty or hold only sample files. This is done with the "Reset database" command.
Next, scan your PC for music files. Click "Add" and select the folders you want. When everything is ready, just click "Scan". This takes a while, which is normal: the computer is not frozen, it is looking for files.
The screenshot shows that the Steam library contains 73 tracks located in the above folder. In the future, every time you update the playlist, do not forget to scan your PC, otherwise the music will not be displayed in the internal player.
Important: to have the music pause automatically during voice chat, check the corresponding box in Settings.
To open the player itself, go to the "View" menu in the Steam client. If the compact window is inconvenient, switch to the expanded mode with the six-squares icon.
If everything is set up correctly, go to "Library" and then "Music". This is where all the tracks will be stored.
The first part of the preparations is completed.
Creating playlists
Adding albums is easy: just keep each album in its own folder. Building a playlist out of different tracks is less convenient in Steam. But it's a one-time job, and then it will be much easier.
First, create a playlist. To do this, switch to the appropriate menu and select the desired item.
Then click "+" next to Playlists and enter a name for the new playlist. What goes into it is entirely up to your taste.
After that, go to albums or artists again, select any track, right-click on it and add to the previously created playlist.
Important: in order not to scan the library every time after adding new tracks, just check the appropriate box in the settings. After each restart, Steam will check for changes and add new music to the collection.
The setup is now complete.
Playback control
Since everything runs through the Steam Overlay, that is where playback happens. Launch CS2, then open the overlay with Shift+Tab. At the bottom you will see a "Music" button that opens your playlist in a compact player.
To switch between playlists, just click on the 6 squares we talked about above. Otherwise, the tracks will play either one after the other or in random order. The player functionality allows this (icon with cross arrows).
The remaining controls are standard and self-explanatory.
The only drawback is that you cannot shrink the player and pin it to a corner of the screen, which would be handy on widescreen monitors. This approach would have been much more convenient, but Valve thought differently. All actions with rewinding, pausing and changing the volume will have to be done via Shift+Tab. Still, it beats Alt+Tab, which minimizes the game window. If the game stutters whenever you tab out, our CS2 settings for weaker computers can help.
In-game music: music kits and audio settings
We do not recommend editing the client's sound files: Valve watches for client modifications, and there is little to gain. In the CS:GO days, players tried to remove the menu and round-end music through the Counter-Strike Global Offensive\csgo\sound\music folder, but that folder was already removed in a CS:GO update, and the method does not work in CS2.
If the music at startup and at the end of rounds bothers you, it is easier to lower or mute it in the CS2 settings under Audio, where main menu, round start, round end and MVP music each have their own volume. To replace the music itself, CS2 has music kits that change the menu, round and MVP themes. Our list of the best music kits in CS2 covers the top options.
For more tweaks, see our guides to the best CS2 launch options and CS2 console commands, and if the game will not start at all, check what to do if CS2 won't launch. Music kits and skins for CS2 are available on LIS-SKINS.
