On May 7, 2026, Valve released six new music kits "with NIGHTMODE Records", sold as the NIGHTMODE II Music Kits in the Store tab. Each comes in a standard and a StatTrak version. They follow the NIGHTMODE Music Kit Box of February 2024. The same patch carried on fixing Cache, which had returned nine days earlier.
The six NIGHTMODE II kits
Valve's announcement listed the kits in this order:
- Music Kit | ALRT, DOPAMINE HIT
- Music Kit | Altare, Change My Mind
- Music Kit | borne, Give It To Me
- Music Kit | Pirapus, EVERYNITE
- Music Kit | Repiet & Julia Kleijn, On And On
- Music Kit | ShockOne, Voices
A music kit replaces the game's music, from the main menu to the round start and death camera, and adds an MVP anthem that the whole server hears when you earn round MVP. The StatTrak version of a kit counts your MVP rounds while it is equipped. Our guide to music kits, graffiti and pins covers how kits work in more detail.
Kits, not a box
In CS2, every earlier set of several kits came as a music kit box, while single kits such as Perfect World's "Ay Hey" were sold on their own. NIGHTMODE II is the first set sold as separate kits. The May 7 notes say that "NIGHTMODE II Music Kits are now available for purchase in standard and StatTrak versions through the STORE tab", with no box mentioned, so you buy the kit you want directly.
| Date | Release | Kits | Sold as |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 6, 2024 | NIGHTMODE Music Kit Box | 6 | Box |
| August 20, 2024 | MASTERMINDS 2 Music Kit Box | 8 | Box |
| November 27, 2024 | Perfect World, Ay Hey | 1 | Single kit |
| August 14, 2025 | Deluge Music Kit Box | 10 | Box |
| May 7, 2026 | NIGHTMODE II Music Kits | 6 | Separate kits |
| September 22, 2026 | Starjunk 95, Industrial Sunset Memories | 1 | Single kit |
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The 2024 NIGHTMODE box
The first NIGHTMODE set arrived on February 6, 2024, in the same update as the Kilowatt Case. Valve's notes for that day said the NIGHTMODE Music Kit Box was "now available for purchase in standard and StatTrak versions". It holds six kits:
- Music Kit | DRYDEN, Feel The Power
- Music Kit | ISOxo, inhuman
- Music Kit | KILL SCRIPT, All Night
- Music Kit | Knock2, Make U SWEAT!
- Music Kit | Rad Cat, Reason
- Music Kit | TWERL and Ekko & Sidetrack, Under Bright Lights
The two sets don't share any artists, and they came out a little over two years apart. The Kilowatt Case update covers the rest of that February 2024 patch.
A second MVP anthem
A week after release, the May 14 notes added "roundmvpanthem_02 for all NIGHTMODE II music kits which plays at 1:5 ratio". In plain terms, each NIGHTMODE II kit now has a second MVP anthem, which Valve says plays at a 1:5 ratio. If you own one of these kits, you won't always hear the same anthem when you take MVP.
Cache fixes and other changes
Valve's announcement said that "alongside new music kits, we've continued updating Cache". On May 7 it:
- fixed various holes in the map
- simplified grenade clipping in various areas
- fixed sounds and surface types for various materials
- swapped the orange wire spool at Sandbags for white wire
The rest of the May 7 notes were small fixes. A user's viewmodel FOV now networks correctly to other players, ragdolls no longer lose their death velocity when shot in certain body locations, and map guides for Ancient load again on the night version. Valve also adjusted score values for various weapons in Deathmatch and the XP limits in Deathmatch and Arms Race.
Cache kept getting attention in the following weeks:
- May 14. More holes and surface types fixed, grating added to some windows so they block bullets, and player and grenade clipping tweaked.
- May 18. The window covers now show collision and bullet decals when shot, with clipping adjusted around windows and the vent entrance.
- May 20. Player and grenade collision adjusted, material blending improved for more accurate footstep sounds, and several gaps reported by players fixed.
The May 18 patch also added a setting, weapon_accuracy_stack_boost_limit, that applies ladder inaccuracy to a player boosted by a stack of two or more players by default, and made grenade jump throws more consistent.
Where it stands now
Valve's notes since May 2026 haven't mentioned removing the NIGHTMODE II kits from the Store. The next music release came on September 22, 2026 with the Rush update, which added the Starjunk 95 kit through the Store tab in the same way.
The previous update covered here is the return of Cache in April 2026. The next one is the Jackass Sticker Capsule from July 2026; the IEM Cologne 2026 Major items came in between.
Sources
- NIGHTMODE II Music Kits — Counter-Strike 2 news
- Counter-Strike 2 Update, May 7, 2026 — Counter-Strike 2 news
- Counter-Strike 2 Update, May 14, 2026 — Counter-Strike 2 news
- Counter-Strike 2 patches/May 7, 2026 — Counter-Strike Wiki
- New CS2 update adds six NIGHTMODE Music Kits — Hotspawn
- New CS2 music kits: guide to NIGHTMODE II — TheSpike
