On the night of October 22, Valve released an update for CS:GO, featuring the long-awaited stickers dedicated to the upcoming major. Thus, the update was released a week before the tournament, which starts on October 31.
Among the items available for purchase – are stickers with team symbols and player autographs, as well as «Spectator Pass», which gives access to participate in the Rio Pick’Em Challenge and other additional opportunities. These include:
• the ability to use team graffiti without restriction;
• access to souvenir kits;
• event coin.
Capsules with player autographs and team symbols are categorized by the level of teams in the tournament (Contendders, Challengers and Legends) and are available for purchase directly in-game or in the Steam store. Half of the revenue from their sales traditionally goes to the teams and players participating in the majors.
It is worth mentioning that the update is not limited to adding items related to the Rio tournament. Corrections and bug fixes affected Ember, Vineyard, and Cascade maps. The developers fixed several visual and gameplay flaws, and Ember also has a Halloween version with pumpkins, graves, crows instead of seagulls and other decorations reminiscent of this holiday.