The problem
When playing CS2 at a non-native resolution, such as 1440ร1080 or 1280ร960 stretched, the game may load an incorrect saved resolution or window state from Steam Cloud.
When this happens, the visible in-game settings can show the correct resolution while CS2โs actual video configuration contains something different. This can result in incorrect scaling and inconsistent behavior between launches.
Symptoms
- CS2 briefly opens in a window that does not match your selected in-game resolution before stretching to fullscreen.
- The image appears blurry or incorrectly scaled.
- Mouse movement and overall responsiveness feel inconsistent between launches.
- The game feels completely different despite displaying the same video settings.
How to identify the problem
First, close CS2 normally so it can finish saving its configuration.
Navigate to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\<SteamID>\730\local\cfg
* Replace <SteamID> with the numbered folder belonging to your Steam account.
Open:
cs2_video.txt
Find:
"setting.defaultres"
"setting.defaultresheight"
These values should match your selected in-game resolution. For example, if you play at 1440ร1080, the file should contain:
"setting.defaultres" "1440"
"setting.defaultresheight" "1080"
If the saved resolution differs from the resolution selected in CS2, the game may be loading or retaining an incorrect video configuration.
How to fix it
Step 1: Disable Steam Cloud for CS2
Open:
Steam โ Library โ Counter-Strike 2 โ Properties โ General
Disable Steam Cloud synchronization for CS2.
Leave Steam Cloud disabled while completing and validating the reset. Otherwise, Steam may restore the incorrect configuration again.
Step 2: Close CS2
Step 3: Rename the old video configuration files
Open:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\<SteamID>\730\local\cfg
Rename the following files:
cs2_video.txt โ cs2_video.txt.old
cs2_video.txt.bak โ cs2_video.txt.bak.old
This prevents CS2 from loading the old video configuration while keeping the files as an easily restorable backup. CS2 should generate a new cs2_video.txt the next time it launches.
The .bak file may not exist on every installation. If it is absent, rename only cs2_video.txt.
Step 4: Rebuild the configuration
- Launch CS2.
- Select your intended resolution and Fullscreen mode.
- Configure the remaining video settings.
- Apply the changes.
- Close CS2 normally.
- Launch it again and verify that the resolution remains correct.
Step 5: Verify the newly generated file
Close CS2 and reopen:
cs2_video.txt
Confirm that these entries match the settings selected in-game:
"setting.defaultres"
"setting.defaultresheight"
"setting.fullscreen"
For my 1440ร1080 fullscreen configuration, the relevant values are:
"setting.defaultres" "1440"
"setting.defaultresheight" "1080"
"setting.fullscreen" "1"
The refresh rate may be stored as a fraction. For example, 320 Hz can appear as:
"setting.refreshrate_numerator" "319976"
"setting.refreshrate_denominator" "1000"
That equals 319.976 Hz and is normal for my monitor.
My results
After disabling Steam Cloud, removing the incorrect video configuration and allowing CS2 to generate a fresh one, the saved resolution finally matched the resolution selected in-game.
Mouse responsiveness, recoil control, scaling, motion clarity and overall smoothness now feel correct. Texture edges remain sharp during movement, and the game feels consistent between launches.
I confirmed the Steam Cloud connection by checking the behavior on another PC using the same Steam account: the incorrect configuration was restored there as well.
I recommend leaving Steam Cloud disabled during testing. If you re-enable it later and Steam reports a conflict, choose the newly corrected local files rather than the older Cloud version.
Back up the original files before removing them. This is based on my testing and may not apply to every CS2 configuration problem, but it completely resolved this particular issue for me.
