While other esports games continually rework and re-imagine themselves, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive moves slow and steady. New weapons and systems are tentatively introduced once in a blue moon, so it’s not surprising that its latest addition feels conservative. Absent since Counter-Strike: Source passed the torch to CS:GO, the now-silenced MP5 submachine gun is now available for use in offline, official casual and deathmatch modes, though Valve reckon it’s not quite ready for the competitive circuit yet.

According to the patch notes, the MP5-SD is being introduced as an alternative to the more recent MP7, and fills the same weapon slot. As with other SMGs, it’s a run-and-gun weapon, offering high movement speed and decent accuracy on the go, although less damage that it used to have thanks to the addition of a silencer. While this weapon seems likely to only be used during earlier rounds of a match before being traded in for beefier rifles, it’ll be interesting to see if it finds a home in the arsenal of competitive players once it graduates from the casual playlists.

While I’ve always been middling to poor at Counter-Strike and its derivatives, a gun like this is just my speed. I’ve never had the cool head and precision needed to hold still and pop headshots, so any gun that lets me zip around the flanks of the front-lines and score the occasional quiet surprise kill is good in my books. But you probably shouldn’t take any kind of advice from me, as I used to favour the notoriously weedy TMP as my early-game weapon of choice in past incarnations of Counter-Strike.

The MP5-SD is available now in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, although only in offline, casual and deathmatch modes for now.