How to play CS2 private match with friends

Have you ever wanted to play a game of CS2 against your friends without having to play competitive? I will teach you how to do it.

How to practice with friends on CS2

A practice game is where you don't have to worry about any repercussions or hurting anyone else since this doesn't really count towards your progression. You can do this by choosing to create a private matchmaking session. Here's how:

1. Launch CS2
2. Click Play
3. Choose Matchmaking
4. Click Private Matchmaking

From here, you have the option to host a private matchmaking game by sharing your matchmaking pool code with a friend or inviting them through Steam. Alternatively, you can also join their lobby by manually pasting their matchmaking code or accepting their Steam invite. Following this, the person who created the code will act as the host and select the map for everyone to play on.

Related: How to throw Mirage Window Smoke in CS2

How to unlock private matchmaking in CS2

As a precaution for newer profiles or as a way to simply gain more experience, the matchmaking option may be disabled. In order to unlock it, you will need to play more casual games and rank up in CS2 before starting a private match with your friends.

Once you've successfully unlocked it, you can play both private and premier maps with your friends with no problems. VAC still verifies your session even if you play in a private match, so I highly recommend you not use any external cheats or mods for the game.

Playing with your friends in a private match used to be easier in Global Offensive. You could simply sit in an open lobby and send mass invites to your friends. Although the process is still similar, it just takes a bit more clicking to find the correct option.

For more on Counter-Strike 2, be sure to check out All CS2 spray patterns and How to show FPS in CS2 here on Pro Game Guides.