Valve has announced a significant shake-up to Counter-Strike 2‘s competitive landscape, announcing that Train will be removed from the Active Duty map pool. But instead of the expected return of Cache, Anubis has returned to the pool just six months after being first axed. The map pool changes will go into effect when Premier season three concludes on Jan. 19.
Anubis’ surprise return to CS2 map pool
The return of Anubis comes as a surprise to the CS2 community. The Egyptian-themed map was removed from Active Duty just six months ago in mid-July, making way for Overpass at the start of 2025’s second season. The map, which was originally added to CS:GO in 2020, underwent a series of changes after being added to the Active Duty pool in 2022, where it remained until 2025.
Further updates are expected before the map returns to Active Duty with the start of Premier season four, despite the official Counter-Strike account not confirming any changes when asked by community figure Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill.
The timing of the change will significantly impact the professional scene as well, with tier-one tournaments on the horizon. BLAST Bounty kicks off on Jan. 13, followed by IEM Kraków on Jan. 28. While tournament organizers are expected to adopt the new map pool, neither TO has officially confirmed their plans for the upcoming events.
Where’s Cache? Community favorite map still missing from CS2
Perhaps most surprising is that Anubis—not Cache—won the rotation spot. Cache had been widely anticipated as the incoming map after Valve acquired its remade version last year, making Anubis’ comeback an unexpected twist. The decision leaves Cache on the sidelines despite community speculation about its imminent return to competitive play.
While Cache is still expected to return to the pool in season five, after the summer break, the Anubis choice possibly points to further reworks being needed on the community favorite map.
The new seven-map pool for season four consists of Dust2, Mirage, Inferno, Nuke, Ancient, Overpass, and Anubis. Teams will need to quickly adapt their strategies and map vetos as the competitive season progresses into 2026, with the meta certain to shift following Train’s exit and Anubis’ surprise resurrection.
