Complete Competitive Counter-Strike Map Pool History

Competitive Counter-Strike is only as good as its map pool. Throughout each era of the game, it’s the battlegrounds in which each legendary match takes place that we look back on the most fondly. Some maps are eternal. Others, while fleeting, still delivered their own series of iconic moments. Think Snax on Cobblestone. s1mple on Cache.

Teams’ success would be defined by their map pool. Some teams, in the right time and place, would find true home turf, allowing them to enjoy a period of dominance on the server. Prime Astralis on Nuke comes to mind. The complete competitive Counter-Strike map pool history is interesting, a full look at well over a decade of history at this point.

The Counter-Strike 1.6 and Source Map Pool

Back in CS 1.6 and Source, the competitive Counter-Strike map pool was the total Wild West. Some maps were played more than others in certain regions, and the pools were determined on a tournament-by-tournament basis. There were some staples, such as Train and Nuke, but it wasn’t actually policed by Valve like it is nowadays.

This variety made it harder for teams to find consistency. It also put a cap on the game’s skill ceiling; if teams didn’t know what maps they’d be playing at the next tournament, why would they commit the time to improving their strats on maps that might not even be there?

Back in the day, you could expect to see maps Dust2, Tuscan, Train, Nuke, Aztec, Mill, and Strike in action on the server. But when you’d actually see them would vary.

CS:GO: The Five-Map Pool (2012 / 2013)

As we moved into the CS:GO era, the competitive scene became a little more structured. This meant, for the first time, we had an official competitive Counter-Strike map pool that would be used as a standard at events and Majors.

We started with four: Dust2, Train, Inferno, and Nuke. All classic maps from Counter-Strike 1.6 and Source, so it makes sense they’d be first through the door. In mid-2013, Valve then added Mirage, expanding to a full five-map pool in time for the first CS:GO Major: DreamHack Winter 2013.

During this strange period, there was a time when some maps of Season were played. It didn’t stick around long enough to be worthy of much discussion, and it was never played at a CS:GO Major.

• Full Map Pool (June 2013 – July 2014): Dust2, Train, Inferno, Nuke, Mirage

Train Out, Cache, Cobblestone, and Overpass in: Map Pool Extends to Seven (2014)

In mid-2014, Valve was still looking to pump CS:GO full of content. To do this, it decided to expand the competitive Counter-Strike map pool to seven, a standard that remains in place twelve years later.

Valve was unhappy with the early version of Train, which had a fog that gave it severe visibility issues. With Operation Breakout in July 2014, Valve introduced the concept of Active Duty Counter-Strike maps, a seven-map pool that would determine all the maps played at events. This frustration with Train meant it didn’t make it into that initial slate of Active Duty maps, instead falling to the Reserves pool.

Instead, we saw Cobblestone, Cache, and Overpass drafted in for the first time in competitive Counter-Strike map pool history. All three maps had technically been added to the game throughout 2013, but Valve took its time to ensure the trio were ready for competitive play before committing to them.

• Full Map Pool (July 2014 – March 2015): Dust2, Inferno, Nuke, Mirage, Cobblestone, Cache, Overpass

Nuke Takes a Leave of Absence (2015)

The original version of Nuke in CS:GO was very similar to its Counter-Strike: Source counterpart. It was in dire need of a facelift, so, like Train a year prior, Nuke was taken out of Active Duty in March 2015 upon the conclusion of Operation Vanguard. It would remain out of competitive play for three CS:GO Majors, which, to this day, is its only period out of the competitive CS map pool.

In its place, Train was back, complete with a full rework that is arguably to this day the definitive version of the iconic map. The fog-induced visibility problems were officially a thing of the past, replaced by brighter colors and a distinctly Soviet-themed aesthetic. In terms of the layout itself, A Site saw far more adjustments than B, making it a little more CT-sided overall.

It’s often forgotten that around this time, both Overpass and Cobblestone got small reworks that fundamentally changed how these maps played. So while -Nuke +Train was the headline change, the competitive Counter-Strike map pool had been completely shaken up at this point.

• Full Map Pool (March 2015 – April 2016): Dust2, Inferno, Mirage, Cobblestone, Cache, Overpass, Train

Nuke Gets a Facelift With Inferno Leaving the Map Pool (2016)

During the early years of CS:GO, the competitive Counter-Strike map pool history is defined by Valve looking to shake off the rust accumulated by its choice to use CS: Source maps in the new game. It was time for the Source engine to really show what it was capable of. But first, in order to do that, Inferno had to come out of Active Duty in April 2016. It was a direct port of the CS: Source version, and, like Nuke and Train before it, was overdue for an overhaul.

The timing worked out well for Valve. With Inferno ready for a remake, the developer finished up work on its big Nuke remake, which arrived alongside Operation Wildfire in April 2016. The new Nuke made a few important layout changes, including the removal of the second vent leading from A to B. Valve would continue to tinker with Nuke’s layout in different ways in subsequent years, but the version released back in 2016 is broadly recognizable to the version we have in the competitive Counter-Strike map pool today.

• Full Map Pool (April 2016 – February 2017): Dust2, Mirage, Cobblestone, Cache, Overpass, Train, Nuke

New Inferno Debuts, Dust2 Takes Its Leave (2017)

Another year, another planned rework of a classic. This time, it was Dust2‘s turn to go under the knife. Even a classic among classics couldn’t escape Valve’s scalpel, so in February 2016, it was taken out of the competitive Counter-Strike map pool as the developer planned a slight refresh.

It was time for the Inferno remake to make its grand entrance. And grand it was. Just in time for PGL Major Krakow 2017, Valve unveiled its glorious new Inferno, which saw significant changes to just about every area of the map. One removed bedroom in Apartments aside, the layout itself was nearly identical, but every area had enough tweaks to fundamentally change how it was played, both casually and competitively. A Site and Banana were the best examples of this – the same, but different.

• Full Map Pool (February 2017 – April 2018): Mirage, Cobblestone, Cache, Overpass, Train, Nuke, Inferno

Cobblestone Gone For Good As Dust2 Gets Its Refresh (2018)

Over the years, Valve made many changes to Cobblestone in an attempt to balance it for competitive and casual play. But in April 2018, it finally gave up, removing Cobblestone from the competitive CS map pool. Its dwindling popularity made it an obvious candidate, and Valve felt enough about its decision that it has never gone back on it. Cobblestone has never appeared in Active Duty since its removal in 2018.

Counter-Strike and Dust2 are synonymous with each other, and it was brought back into the fold as Cobblestone went out. The shiny new remake looked nice, but didn’t actually affect the layout of Dust2 in any meaningful way. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. With Dust2’s remake in 2018, all of Valve’s overhauls from the initial CS: Source-to-CS:GO transition were officially complete.

One less talked about change is that Valve also made some pretty big changes to Nuke around this time. The catwalk outside leading to Heaven was removed, as was the Hut window on A Site. In hindsight, these were both significant changes in helping the map feel less CT-sided, a problem Nuke still suffers with to this day. Imagine what it was like before 2018.

• Full Map Pool (April 2018 – March 2019): Mirage, Cache, Overpass, Train, Nuke, Inferno, Dust2

Cache Bows Out As Vertigo Takes the Big Stage (2019)

After almost six years in the Active Duty competitive Counter-Strike map pool, Cache was removed in March 2019. A reworked version would eventually be released later that year by creator FMPONE, but it never returned to the main competitive pool ever again. This is despite plenty of fan demand, with the iconic map proving a nostalgic favorite. However, Valve deemed it surplus to requirements following its lengthy stint in the pool.

Despite initially being added to CS:GO in 2012, Vertigo had never been trusted to enter the competitive CS map pool. However, with all major map overhauls complete and no obvious contender to return, Valve took a chance by giving Vertigo its big debut in place of Cache in 2019. Its verticality made it stand out amongst the other maps in the pool, much like Nuke. Valve would spend years adjusting Vertigo in small ways to make it work.

• Full Map Pool (March 2019 – May 2021): Mirage, Overpass, Train, Nuke, Inferno, Dust2, Vertigo

Train Comes Out, Ancient Comes In (2021)

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic meant the competitive Counter-Strike map pool remained untouched for over two years, until Valve finally made the choice in May 2021 to bring out Train and replace it with Ancient. To this day, it remains the longest gap between map pool changes in Counter-Strike history.

Train had been a staple for over six-and-a-half years at that point, and many felt it was time for a change ahead of PGL Major Stockholm 2021. With Counter-Strike returning to LAN post-COVID, it was time for a real shakeup.

It got that with Ancient. Importantly, Ancient was the first entirely new Valve-developed map to enter the game since Overpass in 2013, with Vertigo initially being created by Narby. The Aztec-inspired map was a hit, drawing comparisons to Cache with its traditional three-lane design. Ancient, like all great Counter-Strike maps, was easy to learn but difficult to master.

• Full Map Pool (May 2021 – November 2022): Mirage, Overpass, Nuke, Inferno, Dust2, Vertigo, Ancient

Anubis Sees Out CS:GO With Dust2 Out Again (2022)

The previous map pool remained in place for 18 months before Valve made the last change of the CS:GO era. We didn’t know it at the time, but the decision to take out Dust2 in November 2022 and replace it with Anubis would cement the competitive Counter-Strike map pool that would bring us into the CS2 era.

Valve’s choice not to make any significant changes to Dust2’s layout had finally caught up, and players were pretty fed up with the map. A classic, sure, but not untouchable. Following its reintroduction in 2018, another break was required.

Meanwhile, Anubis arrived with considerable hype. It won the Exotic Places CS:GO Mapping Contest 2019, and had already been added to CS:GO two years prior, so players had some idea of what to expect. Anubis provided a solid T-sided map to the pool, and quickly became a favorite among players.

• Full Map Pool (November 2022 – April 2024): Mirage, Overpass, Nuke, Inferno, Vertigo, Ancient, Anubis

CS2 Brings Inferno and Overpass Remakes, But No Pool Swap (2023)

When Valve announced Counter-Strike 2 in 2023, there was much speculation about how this would affect the map pool. The developer confirmed that maps would be separated into three different categories for the new game.

Some would be simple ports, which players could use mainly to assess the gameplay changes between CS:GO and CS2. These were Touchstone maps, such as Dust2 and Mirage. Others were Upgrades, where players would really start to see the power of the Source 2 engine in action, although again, these changes were purely visual. Both Nuke and Ancient fall into this category.

Finally, there were Overhauls. Maps fully remade from the ground up, representing something completely new from their CS:GO counterparts. From the Active Duty competitive Counter-Strike map pool, only Inferno and Overpass got this treatment. This gave the map pool a slight shakeup, even if the pool itself didn’t actually change in the transition to the CS2 era.

Overpass Leaves For Dust2 To Mark First CS2 Change (2024)

In April 2024, Valve finally made its first change to the competitive CS2 map pool. It was a surprising one, too. Overpass, despite receiving a full remake in CS2, was removed from play for the first time in over a decade. Considering it was one of the most tactical maps in the map pool, it proved to be a controversial change.

This was compounded by Valve bringing Dust2 back into the fold. We lose a tactical map, and gain a puggy one. For the casual players, this might have been the perfect swap, but not everyone was happy. Still, as a staple of competitive Counter-Strike map pool history, Dust2 was always going to make a quick return in CS2.

• Full Map Pool (April 2024 – January 2025): Mirage, Nuke, Inferno, Vertigo, Ancient, Anubis, Dust2

Train Remake Replaces Dated Vertigo (2025)

January 2025 saw another Active Duty map pool change, with CS2 officially in full swing. At this point, Valve had established that map pool changes will align with Premier seasons going forward. This change brought an end to Vertigo‘s reign of terror in the competitive Counter-Strike map pool. Despite Valve’s multiple efforts to fix it, the studio had simply never managed to strike the right balance, and after almost six years in Active Duty, it was time to go.

In its place, Valve brought back another complete remake of Train. While the old version of the map was shown in CS2’s initial trailer, Valve backtracked on this idea, instead choosing to pursue a complete night-time remake of Train for its reintroduction to Active Duty. The new iteration saw some massive layout changes – Pop Dog was turned into a long corridor connecting A and B Sites, Ivy was totally overhauled, and Heaven on A was completely removed.

The Train remake has been met with some pushback from the community. With its rain particle effects, some complained about the performance of the new Train, while others simply didn’t like the major layout changes. Train made its debut at the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, and remains in Active Duty.

• Full Map Pool (January 2025 – July 2025): Mirage, Nuke, Inferno, Ancient, Anubis, Dust2, Train

Swift Overpass Return Marks End of Anubis (2025)

The most recent competitive Counter-Strike map pool change came in July 2025. In the time since its addition, Anubis had become too T-sided, with CTs ending up locked into the bomb sites with little rotation potential early into pretty much every round when decent teams were involved. So Valve took it out, just under three years after it was first added to the Active Duty map pool. Many feel that Anubis will return with overhauls, as it was still pretty popular despite its obvious flaws.

In its place, Valve chose to quickly bring back Overpass. During its absence, the developer made a few minor changes to improve visibility, finding a better balance between playability and getting carried away with the visual clutter allowed by the Source 2 engine. But fundamentally, it was still the same Overpass that Valve had removed in April 2024, giving the pool a much-needed tactics-heavy map.

• Full Map Pool (July 2025 – Present): Mirage, Nuke, Inferno, Ancient, Dust2, Train, Overpass