CS 1.6 Crosshair Gone Fix – Counter-Strike 1.6 No Crosshair

Last updated: August 3, 2026

CS 1.6 crosshair disappearing mid-game happens in two distinct situations – the crosshair vanishes on its own during gameplay (cs 1.6 no crosshair suddenly), or it disappears specifically after switching teams or changing maps. Both have different causes. The first is usually a corrupted config or accidental console command.

The second is a known GoldSrc engine bug where the HUD including crosshair and health bar fails to redraw after a team change on certain maps – happens on all Windows versions. All fixes below. If you need a fresh installation, download Counter-Strike 1.6 from csdownload.net.

Restore cs 1.6 crosshair – no crosshair fix via console

If the counter-strike 1.6 crosshair disappeared suddenly, open the console with ~ and type:

crosshair 1

This is the master crosshair toggle in CS 1.6. If crosshair 0 was set accidentally – by a downloaded config, a server command, or typing in the console by mistake – this restores it immediately.

If that alone doesn’t fix it, also run:

crosshair 1
cl_crosshairsize 3
cl_crosshaircolor 2
cl_dynamiccrosshair 1

Command	What it does
crosshair 1	Turns crosshair on – master toggle
cl_crosshairsize 3	Sets crosshair size – 1 smallest, 5 largest. If size was set to 0 crosshair becomes invisible
cl_crosshaircolor 2	Sets crosshair color – 1 green, 2 yellow, 3 blue, 4 cyan, 5 custom
cl_dynamiccrosshair 1	Re-enables dynamic crosshair if it was disabled and causing display issues

To save these permanently so the cs 1.6 crosshair doesn’t disappear again, add them to cstrike\autoexec.cfg.

CS 1.6 crosshair gone after team switch or map change

If the crosshair disappears in cs 1.6 after switching teams along with the health bar, timer, and other HUD elements – this is a documented GoldSrc engine bug (Valve GitHub issue #3002). The entire HUD fails to redraw after a team change on maps like de_inferno, de_nuke, and others. Reported on Windows XP, 7, 8, 10 and 11. The crosshair returns after the next round starts.

Workarounds while the bug persists:

• Switch to OpenGL renderer – this reduces the frequency of the HUD disappearing bug significantly. See the renderer fix section below
• After switching teams type hud_draw 1 in console – this forces the HUD to redraw. If the crosshair is still missing follow with crosshair 1
• Reconnect to the server – reconnect in console reloads the HUD cleanly

Renderer fix for cs 1.6 disappearing crosshair

The Software renderer is a common cause of the counter-strike 1.6 crosshair disappearing mid-game and after team changes – especially on modern hardware. Switching to OpenGL fixes it on most systems:

1. Go to Options → Video
2. Change Renderer from Software to OpenGL
3. Click Apply and restart the game

If OpenGL causes other display problems, try Direct3D as an alternative. Software renderer should be used only as a last resort on very old hardware.

Config reset fix – cs 1.6 crosshair not showing on every launch

A corrupted or incorrect config.cfg can set crosshair 0 or cl_crosshairsize 0 on every launch, making the cs 1.6 crosshair not showing every time you start the game. Delete it to reset all settings to defaults:

1. Close Counter-Strike 1.6 completely
2. Go to your cstrike\ folder
3. Delete or rename config.cfg
4. Launch CS 1.6 – a fresh config will be generated with default crosshair settings
5. Reconfigure your settings in Options and add crosshair commands to a new autoexec.cfg to prevent the issue recurring

For Steam users, running Verify Integrity of Game Files also replaces a corrupted config.cfg with the default version.

Crosshair missing while using AWP or sniper rifle in cs 1.6

When using the AWP, Scout, or other scoped weapons the crosshair disappears by design when you zoom in – this is normal CS 1.6 behavior. The scope replaces the crosshair. If the crosshair doesn’t return after unzooming, this is a separate bug. See the cs 1.6 AWP crosshair dot missing fix.

For all crosshair settings and commands in CS 1.6 see the full cs 1.6 crosshair settings guide.