How to Watch CS2 Demos: In-Game, Browser Tools, and What to Look For

If you're serious about improving at CS2, watching demos is one of the fastest ways to level up. You can't see your own positioning mistakes while you're in the middle of a round — but in a demo, they're obvious. Whether you're reviewing your own games, studying how a pro team executes on a map you struggle with, or scouting an upcoming opponent before a match, demos give you information you can't get any other way.

This guide covers every method for watching CS2 demos — the in-game viewer, free browser-based tools, how to download demos from every platform, and what to actually look for once you start reviewing.

What Is a CS2 Demo File?

A demo file (.dem) is a full recording of a CS2 match captured by the game server. It contains every player position, kill, grenade throw, economy decision, and bomb event for every round. Think of it as a replay file that lets you rewatch the entire match from any perspective. Demo files are typically 200–400 MB depending on how long the match went.

One thing that catches people off guard: when Valve replaced CS:GO with CS2 in September 2023, the demo format changed completely. CS2 uses Source 2 demo files, which are incompatible with older CS:GO tools. Any viewer or parser you use needs to specifically support the CS2 format — most modern tools do, including open-source libraries like demoparser2 that can parse demos directly in the browser using WebAssembly.

Method 1: The CS2 In-Game Demo Viewer

The fastest way to watch a demo is inside CS2 itself. First, make sure the developer console is enabled (Settings → Game → Enable Developer Console → Yes). Then press ~ to open the console and type:

playdemo filename.dem

Once the demo loads, type demoui (or press Shift+F2) to open the playback controls panel with a timeline, play/pause, and speed adjustment.

Here are the console commands you'll actually use:

The in-game viewer is fine for a quick look at a round, but it has well-known limitations. It tends to crash when you skip around the timeline, the speed controls can behave unpredictably, and you're locked into a 3D first-person or free-cam perspective — meaning you're watching one player at a time and can't see the full picture of what's happening across the map. Valve added TrueView in late 2025, which improves hit registration accuracy in playback, but the core viewer experience is still rough for systematic analysis.

Method 2: Browser-Based 2D Demo Viewer

For actual analysis, most competitive players use browser-based tools that show a 2D top-down view of the map. These parsers run entirely in your browser using WebAssembly — your demo file never leaves your device. You see all 10 player positions, kill events, grenade trajectories, and bomb events on a single overhead map.

The 2D perspective is what makes these tools genuinely useful for improvement. Instead of spectating one player and guessing what the rest of the team was doing, you see everything at once — who rotated late, where the crossfire gap was, why a site take worked or fell apart. It's a fundamentally different experience from watching in-game.

Recoil Analytics is a free browser-based demo viewer that handles FACEIT, Valve matchmaking, and HLTV demos. Drag and drop your .dem or .dem.zst file — parsing takes around 20 seconds with no account or upload required. Game events (kills, rounds, economy) load within the first few seconds so you can start browsing rounds while position data finishes loading in the background. It also includes kill heatmaps, grenade visualization, economy tracking, and flash-blind analysis.

How to Download Your CS2 Demos

Before you can watch a demo, you need to download it. The process is slightly different depending on which platform your match was played on.

FACEIT Demos

FACEIT is the most popular third-party platform for competitive CS2. Demos use the .dem.zst format — standard CS2 demos compressed with Zstandard to reduce file size by 40–60%.

1. Go to your FACEIT profile and open a match from your match history
2. Click “Watch Demo” on the match page
3. The file downloads as .dem.zst
4. Drop it directly into a browser-based viewer — tools like Recoil Analytics handle .zst decompression automatically

FACEIT demos are available for about 30 days after the match. If you want to build a personal archive for later review, download them soon after playing.

Valve Matchmaking Demos

Valve Premier and competitive demos are accessed through the CS2 client itself:

1. Open CS2 and navigate to Watch → Your Matches
2. Click the cloud/download icon on the match you want
3. The .dem file saves to your CS2 replays folder

The default save location is:

• Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo\replays\
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/csgo/replays/
• Linux: ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/csgo/replays/

Valve doesn't publish an official retention policy, but demos typically expire within 7–14 days. If you just had a great game or a frustrating loss you want to learn from, download it right away.

HLTV Pro Match Demos

HLTV.org hosts demos for virtually every professional CS2 match — Majors, ESL events, BLAST series, and more. Unlike matchmaking demos, pro demos on HLTV don't expire.

1. Find the match on HLTV through the results or matches page
2. Click into the specific map you want to watch
3. Click the “GOTV Demo” download link (some require HLTV premium)
4. Extract the .rar or .zip archive — the .dem file is inside
5. Load it in a browser-based viewer or in-game with playdemo

Pro demos are great for studying how top teams approach maps you play. Compare their positioning to yours round by round — the differences in default setups, rotate timing, and utility usage can be eye-opening.

ESEA Demos

ESEA's competitive league moved to FACEIT in 2023 as part of the ESL FACEIT Group merger. If you're playing ESEA leagues now, your demos are available through FACEIT's system using the same .dem.zst format and 30-day retention window. The legacy ESEA website (play.esea.net) still hosts an archive of older seasons.

Understanding Demo File Formats

Depending on where your demo comes from, you'll see slightly different file formats:

• .dem — the standard uncompressed CS2 Source 2 demo. Used by Valve matchmaking.
• .dem.zst — same format, compressed with Zstandard. FACEIT uses this to cut download size by 40–60%. Most browser-based viewers decompress it automatically.
• GOTV demos — server-side recordings from tournament organizers and HLTV. Same .dem format, distributed inside .rar or .zip archives.

All three contain the same underlying data. Any CS2 demo viewer handles all of them.

What to Look for When Reviewing Demos

The biggest mistake players make with demo review is treating it like watching a movie — just hitting play and watching the whole thing. That's a waste of time. Good demo review is targeted. You're looking for specific patterns and decisions, not just replaying your highlights.

Another common trap: only reviewing rounds you lost. Rounds you won often contain bad decisions that happened to work out — and those are just as important to catch.

Here's what to focus on:

• Positioning — Where players hold, how crossfires are set up, and where gaps appear. A 2D overhead view makes this obvious in ways the in-game 3D perspective can't.
• Utility usage — Are smokes landing at the right time? Are flashes popping where they need to? Is someone throwing the same predictable molotov every round?
• Economy decisions — When do teams force-buy vs. eco? Economy panels in analysis tools show every player's loadout per round, making it easy to spot bad buys or missed save opportunities.
• Opening duels — Who takes the first fight and from where? The team that wins the opening duel wins the round roughly 70% of the time in pro play.
• Trade speed — When a teammate goes down, how fast does someone trade? Slow trades are one of the most common problems below the highest ranks.
• Rotation timing — Are CTs rotating too early to fakes? Too late to real executes? Are rotations coordinated or are players freelancing?
• Predictable habits — Same grenade from the same spot every round? Always peeking the same angle? These patterns are what opponents exploit.

Using Heatmaps for Pattern Analysis

Instead of watching 30 rounds one at a time, kill heatmaps overlay every kill and death from the entire match onto the map at once. Patterns that take an hour to notice in sequential review become obvious in seconds.

Heatmaps make it easy to spot:

• Positions where your team keeps dying — is one spot costing you rounds consistently?
• Where you pick up kills vs. where you struggle
• Whether opponents have predictable routes or defaults you could counter
• Map zones where your team is strong vs. areas you're giving up — you can compare with pro match data to see how top teams approach the same spots

One heatmap compresses an entire match of kill data into a single image. It's the fastest way to identify what's going wrong without scrubbing through every round.

Tips for Faster Demo Review

• Use 2D viewers, not the in-game client. Seeing all 10 players at once is worth more than a pretty 3D perspective. You'll catch positioning mistakes in seconds that you'd miss while spectating in first-person.
• Start with pistol rounds and force-buys. These rounds have the most variance and often reveal the biggest coordination gaps.
• Scan heatmaps before watching individual rounds. Identify problem areas on the heatmap first, then drill into the specific rounds where those deaths happened. This can compress 45 minutes of review into 5.
• Take notes with round numbers. Jot down the rounds that show specific issues so you can revisit them with teammates in a VOD review session.
• Compare against pro demos. Load a pro match on the same map and compare positioning. The differences in default setups alone can be illuminating.
• Review CT and T sides separately. The decision-making is fundamentally different. Mixing them in one session makes patterns harder to spot.
• Isolate recurring problems. If you keep dying in the same area across multiple matches (e.g., always getting caught rotating through connector on Mirage), filter for those deaths specifically to confirm it's a pattern, not a one-off.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I watch CS2 demos on my phone?

Yes. Browser-based 2D viewers work on any device with a modern browser — iOS Safari, Android Chrome, or any Chromium browser. The replay interface is responsive and works at any screen size. Parsing takes a bit longer on mobile since phones have less processing power, but it's fully functional.

How long does parsing a demo take?

With a browser-based WASM parser, a typical 300 MB demo takes about 20 seconds to fully process. The parser works in two phases: game events (kills, rounds, grenades, economy) load within the first few seconds so you can start browsing immediately, and full player position data streams in shortly after. The exact time depends on your device and demo size.

Do I need to upload my demo to a server?

Not with tools that use local WebAssembly parsing. Your demo stays on your device — it's processed entirely in your browser's memory with nothing sent to any external server. This also means it works offline once the page has loaded.

Where are my CS2 demo files saved?

Valve matchmaking demos save to the replays folder inside your CS2 installation. On Windows: ...\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo\replays\. FACEIT demos download to your browser's default download folder as .dem.zst files.

Why can't I open my old CS:GO demos?

CS2 uses a completely different demo format (Source 2) than CS:GO (Source 1). They're incompatible in both directions — CS2 tools can't read CS:GO demos, and CS:GO tools can't read CS2 demos. If you have old CS:GO demos from before September 2023, you need a CS:GO-era viewer to open them.

What tick rate do CS2 demos use?

CS2 demo files record at 64 ticks per second. Valve introduced a “sub-tick” system that records exact input timestamps between ticks, so actions aren't snapped to tick boundaries the way they were in CS:GO. All CS2 platforms — including Valve matchmaking and FACEIT — currently run at 64 Hz, since Valve enforced a uniform tick rate across the ecosystem. The sub-tick data is embedded in the demo, providing precision beyond what the base tick rate alone would suggest.

How do I share a specific round with a teammate?

For locally parsed demos (your own FACEIT or matchmaking games), demo data only exists in your browser — there's no shareable link since nothing is stored on a server. The simplest approach is to have your teammate load the same .dem file in their own browser and navigate to the round number you want to discuss. For pro matches in Recoil Analytics, rounds can be linked directly via URL since the data is stored server-side.

An upcoming Pro tier will add server-side storage for your own demos too — meaning shareable round links, cross-device access to your match history, and the ability to send a teammate a direct link to a specific round without them needing the demo file.

Are FACEIT demos different from Valve matchmaking demos?

The underlying format is the same — both are CS2 Source 2 .dem files with identical data types. The practical differences: FACEIT demos use .zst compression (Valve's are uncompressed), and FACEIT demos stay available for about 30 days while Valve demos expire within roughly 7–14 days.