Valve Buys Fan-Made Counter-Strike 2 Map in Industry First Move. This should indicate that Counter-Strike 2 will eventually release it.
OVERVIEW
- The fan-made CS2 map Cache was formally acquired by Valve, which was the first community content acquisition in the industry.
- Valve purchased Cache on the day it debuted at the CS2 Workshop in March 2025, according to creator FMPONE.
- Pubs will surely enjoy the map, but it’s interesting to watch how pros will use it once more.
In a first for the franchise, Valve has formally acquired the fan-made Counter-Strike map Cache, making today a great day to be a fan. All you need to know to understand why that’s significant is that Cache is one of the most recognizable maps in the series, and its return is highly anticipated.
After Cache was added to Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) through the Steam Workshop in March 2025, there were weeks of speculation before map co-creator Shawn “FMPONE” Snelling confirmed the purchase on May 23, 2025. Will the next Major feature it? We’re eager to see the experts on it, but probably not.
Valve recently acquired Cache, which may have been one of the best moves ever made.
Following weeks of conjecture, Shawn “FMPONE” Snelling, co-creator of the map, announced the news on X (formerly Twitter). Snelling acknowledged Valve’s acquisition in response to a fan who brought up his lack of activity since March. Additionally, he thanked Salvatore “Volcano” Garozzo, the original developer of Cache, as well as Valve.
In Counter-Strike, cache has a lengthy and illustrious history. It was first made as a custom map for Counter-Strike: Source by Volcano. Snelling redesigned and balanced the map for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO). In 2014, it formally joined the CS: GO competitive pool.
In 2014, it formally joined the competitive pool of CS: GO. Along with iconic locations like the forklift at Bombsite A, it features a balanced gameplay between terrorists and counter-terrorists. It was taken out of the competitive lineup in 2019, though, and Snelling kept it mostly intact until its CS2 debut.
Valve previously offered to buy the map one other time, around 2013-2015 (can’t remember). They gave the option to keep it in our own hands and ride out the Operations, or let them buy it. At that time we rode out the Operations because we had total confidence in the map’s…— FMPONE (@FMPONE) May 23, 2025
What makes this move particularly historic is that Valve has never before outright bought a fan-made map for permanent inclusion. FMPONE also revealed that Valve previously offered the option to sell Cache back in the 2013–2015 era, but Snelling chose to maintain control and let the map ride through the game’s Operations system.
This is going to be so fun in both pubs and pro play
The community’s response has been overwhelmingly positive. Players, esports teams, and content creators have replied to the post on X (formerly Twitter). Players are already speculating about seeing Cache featured in upcoming Counter-Strike 2 Majors. The Austin Major stars in just a few days on June 3, so we can’t expect it there, but let’s hope to see it in the Budapest Major in December.
For many Counter-Strike fans, Cache has a unique place in the history of the franchise. From its early days as a custom map plagued by balance issues favoring the Terrorist side, to how much work that’s been put into balancing it, Cache has had a journey that is worthy of the franchise. Today, it’s as iconic as Dust2, Inferno, and Mirage.
While Valve has yet to make a formal press announcement, the official Counter-Strike X account acknowledged the news with a handshake emoji in a repost of FMPONE’s original post. With CS2 growing more and more, Cache makes a triumphant return, and we all welcome it with open arms.