# Counter-Strike 2 IEM Cologne 2026 - Product: Counter-Strike 2 (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/counter-strike-2) - Vendor: Valve - Date: 2026-05-22 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/730/view/672869045073084948 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/counter-strike-2/releases/2026-05-22-iem-cologne-2026 What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog. Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'. --- - **added** — Major Shop now allows direct purchase of individual stickers at prices set by demand instead of capsules - **added** — Sticker prices are dynamically adjusted based on relative demand, with updates after large numbers of sales - **added** — Automatic refund of tokens if a purchased sticker price drops by 25 tokens or more within 24 hours - **added** — Souvenir-O-Matic feature allows crafting custom Souvenirs by selecting any normal or Souvenir quality weapon, a completed match, and a player to apply gold team, autograph, and map stickers - **added** — Pick'Em Challenge with Cologne 2026 Viewer Pass grants Challenge Coin upgradeable from Bronze to Silver, Gold, or Diamond with 300 tokens awarded per upgrade - **changed** — Tournament item sales royalty rates now depend on team performance, based on VRS seeding before the Major and final standings after the Major - **changed** — Removed capsule-based purchasing model for team and player autograph stickers to allow regional accessibility - **removed** — Sticker capsules are no longer available for purchase The IEM Cologne 2026 Major is fast approaching. Teams are making final adjustments, fine-tuning their strats, and crossing their fingers that they won't face Vitality until the Grand Final. That can only mean one thing: Tournament Items featuring Teams and Player Autographs are now available for purchase! ##### The 2026 Cologne Major Shop The Major Shop has undergone some major renovation--now you can directly get any sticker you want (at prices set by demand). Holo Furia logo? You got it. Foil Donk autograph? No problem. You can purchase tokens and redeem them for any sticker you want. The prices of stickers will depend on relative demand (when lots of players buy a particular sticker, its price goes up and other sticker prices go down), but if you're worried that a sticker might drop in price right after you buy it, we've got you covered. If a sticker price drops by more than 25 tokens within 24 hours of your purchase you'll get a refund of tokens for the total difference. Details about the Major Shop renovation and how this all works can be found in the FAQ below. ##### Souvenir-O-Matic What will you bring to the signing session? Now you can craft your own Souvenir! Take any normal or Souvenir quality weapon in your inventory and select a completed match and one of the players. You'll get your weapon back in Souvenir quality with gold team, autograph, and map stickers applied. ##### Pick'Em Purchase and activate a Cologne 2026 Viewer Pass, and you'll receive a 2026 Cologne Major Challenge Coin. Play the Pick'Em Challenge to upgrade your Challenge Coin from Bronze to Silver, Gold, or Diamond and with each upgrade you'll get 300 tokens that you can redeem for the stickers or souvenirs of your choice. ##### Supporting the Teams As with previous Majors, 50% of the tournament item sales are shared with the Tournament Organizer, Teams, and Players. But this time the royalty rates depend on performance. Between now and the end of the Major royalty rates for token sales are based on the teams' VRS seeding, and after the Major the royalty rates will be based on the Major final standings. The breakdown is in the FAQ, below. So clear your schedule and tune in, as the Major returns to the Cathedral of Counter-Strike! ##### FAQ ##### Q. Why aren't you selling capsules? In the past we shipped team and player autograph stickers in capsules. While this approach was popular, we've heard feedback that players might prefer to purchase stickers directly. Additionally, players in certain regions cannot purchase sticker capsules. So we're exploring alternatives that allow all players to participate. ##### Q. How do I get tournament items? Add any sticker or stickers you like to your cart, and check out. To complete your transaction, first you'll purchase and activate tokens, and then redeem those tokens for your sticker. Sticker purchases are final and cannot be refunded. If you cancel your transaction before activating your tokens, those tokens _can_ be refunded. If you cancel your transaction after activating your tokens, the tokens will remain in your balance (and cannot be refunded) but you can redeem them for something else. ##### Q. How are sticker prices set? The prices of all stickers depend on relative demand. This means that if one sticker is purchased disproportionately more than another, its price will go up and the other sticker's price will go down. After a large number of stickers are sold, all sticker prices will update (you'll get a warning if you're shopping when this is about to happen). The prices in tokens you see are the same prices for everyone worldwide. ##### Q. Why do I have to purchase tokens? Tokens are a little less convenient than just paying for stickers outright. But the reality is that if stickers could be refunded after being purchased, then the sticker prices would not accurately represent real demand. ##### Q. Can I pre-purchase tokens? No. Tokens are only purchased when you're buying st _[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/730/view/672869045073084948]_