Well, CS2 fans, Valve has done it. The map Cache has finally been added to CS2 after years of community outcry.
Cache, and its history
Cache is a standard defusal map inspired by Chornobyl, made by a community creator called FMPONE. After gaining attention for being one of the most popular community maps, Cache was added to CS:GO in 2014, becoming part of the Active Duty map pool. From here on, Cache became one of the most played maps and became home to several famous eSports plays, including a graffiti spot from a play that S1mple made during a 2017 Major.
In 2019, Valve removed Cache from CS:GO, replacing it with the map Vertigo. In 2023, CS2 was released, and Cache was left behind in CS:GO. After visual overhauls and performance improvements, Cache became a playable community map in CS2; however, it was not officially in-game and not available for competitive play. Valve purchased rights to the map in 2025 and worked on optimizing Cache for the new Source 2 engine.
2026 implementation
After many teasers by Valve since the start of 2026, Valve officially released Cache on April 28. Valve has made many changes to the community map available on the workshop, including changes to A-site and the removal of the mid-window. Cache is available in the Competitive, Casual, Deathmatch, and Retakes game modes. Cache is part of the Defusal Group Alpha for Casual and Deathmatch. As soon as the map was released, matchmaking times for all other maps spiked, and matchmaking times for Cache are the lowest of any map. Clearly, the community is excited for a new map. While Cache is still part of the Reserve Map pool, it is not far-fetched that it will be added to the Active Duty map pool with the next Premier season. Below are all the Cache callouts you need to know to get a better understanding of the map.
How do ERHS CS2 players feel?
CS2 is a very popular game (the most-played game on Steam by far), so it was not difficult to find CS2 players here at ERHS.
eSTEM student Kevin Yang was very excited about the new map, saying, “I think Valve made a great decision with adding Cache. The community started to get furious after Valve’s updates started to barely add anything outside of skins and cases”.
I later interviewed an ERHS student named Alex Vang, who recently received the Five-Year Veteran Coin in CS2. When asked about the new map Cache, he commented, “Valve adding Cache is a great way of making OG players right at home with a nostalgic map, especially with the recent addition of the Animgraph two update that made movement more like CS: GO”.
What does Cache mean for the future of CS2?
When CS2 was released, many CS: GO maps were left behind and were never added to CS2. This also includes many game modes, like Flying Scoutsman and Danger Zone. If Valve has brought back one map, it could pave the way for bringing back others, like Tuscan or Cobblestone. When it comes to game modes, Valve did bring back Retakes for the first time since CS: GO in October 2025. Who knows? CS2 could be getting much more to come.
