CS2 Cursor stuck to the middle.

[KXNDevs]

When I load into a match in CS2, my camera barely moves when I move my mouse. It feels like the cursor is stuck near the center of the screen and the movement is extremely limited. I tried adjusting my DPI but it didn’t help. I’m playing on a 4:3 aspect ratio. If needed, I can send a video of the issue.

System Specs:
Ryzen 5 5600
Zotac Gaming RTX 4060 (8GB)
16GB Lexar Ares RAM (3600 MT/s)
Lexar NM620 1TB NVMe SSD

[fxzzi]

dupe of #4310 probably

[Peterson047]

I found a solution. There is a cs2.sh file inside the CS2 game folder. On Ubuntu 26.04, for example, Wayland is the default display server. However, this script is configured to use X11 by default in the following section:

if [ "$UNAME" == "Linux" ]; then
	if [ -z "$SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER" ]; then
		export SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER=x11
	fi
fi

Simply change x11 to wayland so the game uses Wayland instead. This does the same thing as adding the launch option, but directly in the game's startup script.

To edit the file, open Steam → Counter-Strike 2 → Properties → Installed Files → Browse..., then navigate to game/cs2.sh.

In my case, after making this change, the game may occasionally launch on the wrong monitor. If that happens, just move the window to the correct monitor using the GNOME overview/workspaces or adjust the display settings from within the game. After that, the issue is resolved.

As an added bonus, if you play at a lower resolution, the pixelated appearance is gone as well.

[Peterson047]

Mouse bug diagnosis

The "mouse disappears, only comes back after restarting the game" symptom is a classic XWayland (X11 emulated inside Wayland) issue. In raw/relative-input shooters like CS2, SDL emulates X11's XWarpPointer using cursor confinement — when you alt-tab, the game freezes/crashes, or the compositor recovers focus differently, the pointer gets "stuck" in a corner or loses tracking until you restart.

Switching to native Wayland fixed it because then the compositor (Ubuntu's Mutter) manages pointer confinement deterministically via the zwp_relative_pointer_v1 protocol. Your job is just to make the script assume this as the default with the right variables.

The fix — replace this block

Find this section in cs2.sh (around lines 58-64):

# There is Wayland support in SDL but a recent (7/30/2025) attempt at
# allowing SDL to default to Wayland caused a number of customer issues so
# keep the default at X11 for now. Don't override any user setting so
# people can easily use Wayland if they want.
if [ "$UNAME" == "Linux" ]; then
	if [ -z "$SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER" ]; then
		export SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER=x11
	fi
fi

And replace it with:

# Mouse/input + video backend on Linux.
# CS2 uses SDL3, which has native Wayland support. The original script forced
# X11 (XWayland) due to old general bugs, but on a native Wayland session
# XWayland emulates X's warp/relative-pointer and causes the classic
# "mouse gets stuck in the corner / only comes back after restarting the game"
# bug in raw-input shooters. So: prefer native Wayland when the session is
# Wayland, and only fall back to X11 on a real X11 session. User-set values
# are always preserved.
if [ "$UNAME" == "Linux" ]; then
	# Detect the session type. Prefer XDG_SESSION_TYPE and, if empty,
	# fall back to the presence of WAYLAND_DISPLAY.
	SESSION_TYPE="${XDG_SESSION_TYPE:-}"
	if [ -z "$SESSION_TYPE" ] && [ -n "$WAYLAND_DISPLAY" ]; then
		SESSION_TYPE=wayland
	fi

	if [ "$SESSION_TYPE" == "wayland" ]; then
		# Native Wayland backend.
		export SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER="${SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER:-wayland}"

		# Disable SDL's X warp-pointer emulation on Wayland. This is exactly
		# what makes the cursor "jump to the corner" / lose tracking and force
		# a game restart in raw-input shooters.
		export SDL_VIDEO_WAYLAND_EMULATE_MOUSE_WARP="${SDL_VIDEO_WAYLAND_EMULATE_MOUSE_WARP:-0}"

		# Hide the system cursor while the game holds the relative pointer,
		# preventing the desktop cursor from "leaking" on top.
		export SDL_MOUSE_RELATIVE_CURSOR_VISIBLE="${SDL_MOUSE_RELATIVE_CURSOR_VISIBLE:-0}"

		# (Optional) Allow tearing if the compositor supports it, reducing input
		# lag on VRR monitors. Comment out if it causes artifacts.
		export SDL_VIDEO_WAYLAND_ALLOW_TEARING="${SDL_VIDEO_WAYLAND_ALLOW_TEARING:-1}"
	else
		# X11 or unknown session -> keep Valve's default.
		if [ -z "$SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER" ]; then
			export SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER=x11
		fi
	fi
fi

What each variable does

Variable	Effect
SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER=wayland	Forces SDL3 to use the Wayland backend instead of XWayland
SDL_VIDEO_WAYLAND_EMULATE_MOUSE_WARP=0	The main one for this bug. Disables the XWarpPointer emulation that makes the mouse stick in the corner
SDL_MOUSE_RELATIVE_CURSOR_VISIBLE=0	Hides the system cursor in relative mode (no "ghost cursor")
SDL_VIDEO_WAYLAND_ALLOW_TEARING=1	Reduces input lag; only has an effect on compositors/hardware that support it

All of them follow SDL3's convention (SDL_HINT_X → SDL_X variable), and I use ${VAR:-default} so nothing you've already exported gets overwritten.

⚠️ Important: Steam updates

The cs2.sh file gets overwritten every time Steam updates/verifies the game files. If you edit it directly, your fix disappears. Two ways to make it durable:

Option A — Steam Launch Options (cleanest, survives updates)
In CS2 → Properties → Launch Options:

SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER=wayland SDL_VIDEO_WAYLAND_EMULATE_MOUSE_WARP=0 SDL_MOUSE_RELATIVE_CURSOR_VISIBLE=0 %command%

Option B — Variables in your profile (applies to all SDL games)
In ~/.profile or ~/.pam_environment:

export SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER=wayland
export SDL_VIDEO_WAYLAND_EMULATE_MOUSE_WARP=0
export SDL_MOUSE_RELATIVE_CURSOR_VISIBLE=0

I'd recommend Option A — it's per-game, doesn't affect anything else, and doesn't depend on editing a file that's going to be reset.

How to test

Launch the game and confirm via ~/.local/share/Steam/logs/ or just by observing: on native Wayland the desktop cursor doesn't flash briefly on alt-tab, and the mouse doesn't "stick" in the corner after regaining focus. If there's still some input residue, also enable cl_mouseenable 1 / m_rawinput 1 in the CS2 console.

[Kalyxt]

This doesnt work for me on ubuntu 26.04. When I change it to wayland, game doesnt start.

Screencast.From.2026-07-17.09-09-16.webm

[Peterson047]

This doesnt work for me on ubuntu 26.04. When I change it to wayland, game doesnt start.

Screencast.From.2026-07-17.09-09-16.webm

Do you have any launch options set in the game's Steam properties?
Capture the game's startup log to check for the possible source of the error.

[Gabriel-Henrique-Selani-Barbosa]

This doesnt work for me on ubuntu 26.04. When I change it to wayland, game doesnt start.

Screencast.From.2026-07-17.09-09-16.webm

The exact same thing happens to me. I'm running Zorin OS 18.1 with an RTX 4060 Ti, and if I switch CS2 to Wayland, the game won't even launch, even with completely empty launch options.

[Gabriel-Henrique-Selani-Barbosa]

I even launched Steam through the terminal to check the logs while trying to start CS2 under Wayland, and this is what I got:

ProtonFixes[233439] WARN: Skipping fix execution. We are probably running an unit test.
fsync: up and running.
Fossilize INFO: Overriding serialization path: "/home/frontiel/.steam/debian-installation/shader_cache_temp_dir_d3d11_64/fozpipelinesv6/steamapprun_pipeline_cache".
ProtonFixes[233756] WARN: [CONFIG]: Parent directory "/home/frontiel/.config/protonfixes" does not exist. Abort.
ProtonFixes[233756] WARN: Skipping fix execution. We are probably running an unit test.
fsync: up and running.
Fossilize INFO: Overriding serialization path: "/home/frontiel/.steam/debian-installation/shader_cache_temp_dir_d3d12_64/fozpipelinesv6/steamapprun_pipeline_cache".
CSteam3Client::Shutdown
Game Recording - game stopped [gameid=730]
Removing process 230620 for gameID 730
Removing process 230619 for gameID 730
Removing process 230608 for gameID 730
Removing process 230605 for gameID 730
Removing process 230591 for gameID 730
Removing process 230581 for gameID 730
Removing process 230440 for gameID 730
Removing process 230439 for gameID 730
Removing process 230438 for gameID 730
Removing process 230437 for gameID 730
reaping pid: 230736 -- gameoverlayui
chdir "/mnt/5c141336-35d8-4ac9-8881-a5788aba2c3c/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive"
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/frontiel/.steam/debian-installation/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/frontiel/.steam/debian-installation/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
Game Recording - would start recording game 730, but recording for this game is disabled
Adding process 234282 for gameID 730
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/frontiel/.steam/debian-installation/ubuntu12_64/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/frontiel/.steam/debian-installation/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
ERROR: ld.so: object '/home/frontiel/.steam/debian-installation/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
Adding process 234283 for gameID 730
Adding process 234284 for gameID 730
Adding process 234285 for gameID 730
pid 234402 != 234401, skipping destruction (fork without exec?)
basename: extra operand 'Offensive/game/cs2.sh'
Try 'basename --help' for more information.
pid 234404 != 234401, skipping destruction (fork without exec?)
Adding process 234401 for gameID 730
Adding process 234403 for gameID 730
Adding process 234405 for gameID 730
Loaded /mnt/5c141336-35d8-4ac9-8881-a5788aba2c3c/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/bin/linuxsteamrt64/libengine2.so, got 0x5a580c4a6e60
Using breakpad crash handler
Adding process 234406 for gameID 730
Adding process 234407 for gameID 730
[S_API] SteamAPI_Init(): Loaded '/home/frontiel/.steam/debian-installation/linux64/steamclient.so' OK.
Setting breakpad minidump AppID = 730
Forcing breakpad minidump interfaces to load
Looking up breakpad interfaces from steamclient
Calling BreakpadMiniDumpSystemInit
07/20 16:05:41 minidumps folder is set to /tmp/dumps
07/20 16:05:41 Init: Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(730)/version(10830129)/tid(234406)
Looking up breakpad interfaces from steamclient
Calling BreakpadMiniDumpSystemInit
SteamInternal_SetMinidumpSteamID: Caching Steam ID: 76561198241733106 [API loaded yes]
SteamInternal_SetMinidumpSteamID: Setting Steam ID: 76561198241733106
Setting breakpad minidump AppID = 2347771
Loaded libSDL3.so.0, got 0x5a580c60b710
Loaded /mnt/5c141336-35d8-4ac9-8881-a5788aba2c3c/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/bin/linuxsteamrt64/libtier0.so, got 0x5a580c4901a0
Loaded /mnt/5c141336-35d8-4ac9-8881-a5788aba2c3c/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/bin/linuxsteamrt64/libfilesystem_stdio.so, got 0x5a580c6188a0
Adding process 234408 for gameID 730
Loaded /mnt/5c141336-35d8-4ac9-8881-a5788aba2c3c/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/bin/linuxsteamrt64/libinputsystem.so, got 0x5a580c62b570
Loaded /mnt/5c141336-35d8-4ac9-8881-a5788aba2c3c/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/bin/linuxsteamrt64/liblocalize.so, got 0x5a580c63ebf0
Loaded /mnt/5c141336-35d8-4ac9-8881-a5788aba2c3c/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/bin/linuxsteamrt64/librendersystemvulkan.so, got 0x5a580c651460
Loaded /mnt/5c141336-35d8-4ac9-8881-a5788aba2c3c/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/bin/linuxsteamrt64/libresourcesystem.so, got 0x5a580c664a30
Loaded /mnt/5c141336-35d8-4ac9-8881-a5788aba2c3c/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/bin/linuxsteamrt64/libschemasystem.so, got 0x5a580c677a70
crash_20260720160541_2.dmp[234416]: Uploading dump (out-of-process)
/tmp/dumps/crash_20260720160541_2.dmp
/mnt/5c141336-35d8-4ac9-8881-a5788aba2c3c/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/game/cs2.sh: line 109: 234406 Segmentation fault ${STEAM_RUNTIME_PREFIX} ${GAME_DEBUGGER} "${GAMEROOT}"/${GAMEEXE} "$@"
Adding process 234415 for gameID 730
crash_20260720160541_2.dmp[234416]: Finished uploading minidump (out-of-process): success = yes
crash_20260720160541_2.dmp[234416]: response: Discarded=1
crash_20260720160541_2.dmp[234416]: file ''/tmp/dumps/crash_20260720160541_2.dmp'', upload yes: ''Discarded=1''
pid 234416 != 234415, skipping destruction (fork without exec?)
reaping pid: 234111 -- steam
Game Recording - game stopped [gameid=730]
Removing process 234415 for gameID 730
Removing process 234408 for gameID 730
Removing process 234407 for gameID 730
Removing process 234406 for gameID 730
Removing process 234405 for gameID 730
Removing process 234403 for gameID 730
Removing process 234401 for gameID 730
Removing process 234285 for gameID 730
Removing process 234284 for gameID 730
Removing process 234283 for gameID 730
Removing process 234282 for gameID 730

The most relevant part seems to be that CS2 successfully loads librendersystemvulkan.so, but then immediately crashes with a segmentation fault in cs2.sh.

[juanmadeira]

same here. arch linux, mangowm, kernel 7.1.5-arch1-2

[edmundselliot]

I fixed it here: libsdl-org/SDL#16259

If you take and build from source it should work for you too. Will try to get it merged if I can