All Counter-Strike 2 maps listed, from Ancient to Dust 2 & Overpass
Counter-Strike 2 has an impressive list of maps ported over from Global Offensive, although there are a few notable absences. Here's what you need to know about the full map list.
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We've had a few months with Counter-Strike 2 on our screens, which is plenty of time to get accustomed to the new rotation of maps on offer.
While there are unfortunately no new maps in this fresh overhaul of Counter-Strike, there are plenty of remakes and improvements that help each area to feel brand new.
Valve has decided to keep the map pool system active in the game too, which helps to stay up to date with the current active duty pool as it changes on a semi-regular basis.
How many maps are there in Counter-Strike 2?
There are currently 10 maps in Counter-Strike 2, all of which are listed as follows:
- Ancient
- Anubis
- Dust II
- Inferno
- Italy
- Mirage
- Nuke
- Office
- Overpass
- Vertigo
While this selection is missing my beloved Train and Cache, I'm really happy with the maps on offer here, and seeing the visual improvements of Inferno, Nuke, and Overpass never wears off.
In terms of remakes, Overpass, Inferno, and Italy are the only maps to have received a Full Overhaul at this current point in time, and they certainly shine the brightest when it comes to graphical beauty.
What is the CS2 competitive active duty map pool?
There are only a certain number of maps available in the CS2 competitive active duty pool though, so check out the list below for all of the maps you can play in ranked:
- Ancient
- Anubis
- Dust2
- Inferno
- Mirage
- Nuke
- Vertigo
The Premier Mode map pool is the same as the competitive selection. However, unlike competitive, Premier Mode does not let you select which maps you want to play, and you have a single unified MMR for all maps instead of the individual ranks you get in standard competitive.
Classic maps like Cache, Train, and Cobblestone have been missing from the game for a while, but the April 2024 update has pushed Overpass out in favour of a returning Dust2. This hasn't been the most popular of changes, and I'm definitely going to miss Overpass as it is easily one of my favourite maps to play!
Map tiers explained
Valve has explained that there are three tiers of maps in Counter-Strike 2: Touchstone Maps, Upgrade maps, and Full Overhaul maps.
Firstly, there are Touchstone maps - these are fan-favourite maps from CS:GO that don’t need too much doing to them in terms of layout and visual style. The example given in the video is Dust 2, a map that any seasoned Counter-Strike player will recognise in a heartbeat.
Touchstone maps have seen small updates to how they look, especially in the lighting and textures department. While there might be small tweaks to the level geometry, these will largely appear as you remember them.
Next up are Upgrade maps. These are maps that aren’t quite up to the modern standard, so Valve has gone back in to restore them with physically based lighting systems and fully reworked geometry. Maps like Nuke see the largest benefit from this, looking far better than they currently do in CS:GO.
Lastly, we have Full Overhaul maps. These are maps that needed some serious love, and so Valve has recreated them from the ground up. Using everything that the Source 2 engine has to offer, you can essentially see these almost as new maps - Overpass is just one of the maps to get this treatment.
While the number of Overhaul maps at launch is relatively low, there will likely be more maps remade in the future - as we saw in the early stages of CS:GO. A map like Inferno was dramatically changed from how it launched in CS:GO, so we will probably see this happen with some of the areas that haven't had too much of a touch-up this time around.
About The Author
Joshua Boyles
Joshua is the Guides Editor at GGRecon. After graduating with a BA (Hons) degree in Broadcast Journalism, he previously wrote for publications such as FragHero and GameByte. You can often find him diving deep into fantasy RPGs such as Skyrim and The Witcher, or tearing it up in Call of Duty and Battlefield. He's also often spotted hiking in the wilderness, usually blasting Arctic Monkeys.
Comments
This is part of the ‘Counter-Strike’ directory
Directory contents
-
Best Graphics Settings
-
Pro Crosshair Codes
-
Best Launch Options
-
Bob Settings
-
Change Brightness
-
Jumpthrow Bind
-
Left-Hand View
-
Stretched-Res
-
Hide UI
-
VALORANT Sensitivity
-
Show FPS
-
Crosshair Customisation
