The command prompt accepts written commands. This is controlled by the developer console variable. The last few lines of the console output can be overlaid on top of the gameplay in the upper left corner. In addition to showing the output from entered commands, the output panel also logs various game events, such as player deaths and chat text. The console is split into two parts, the large output panel and the command prompt. The console is not accessible in the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions of the game.

The -developer argument will also be automatically open the console, in addition to setting the developer and sv_cheats variables. The console will be automatically opened, even if not enabled, when the game is launched using the -console argument. Additionally the console must be enabled in the advanced keyboard options sub dialog. This defaults to the backtick/tilde key ( `/ ~). To open the console, a key must be bound to the command of opening the console. The advanced keyboard options dialog that hides the option to enable the consoleĪccess to the console is by default disabled.