Valve’s Counter-Strike 2 developers have sent Counter-Strike fans into rapture after updating the banner for CS2’s X account.
The banner appears to show the T spawn of Cache, potentially heralding the return of the map to the tactical shooter.
Valve recreates the Train teaser for a potential Cache return
The banner is not the first time Valve has used their CS2 X banner as a teaser; in fact, it’s not even the first time they have done it in Counter-Strike 2.
They used the same strategy for the long-awaited release of Train. Train was part of CS2’s announcement videos, but was not released into the game until November 2024, 14 months after CS2’s release.
Valve shared two images, displaying the floor of the map’s spawns, before releasing the map nine days after the initial teaser.
Using the floor of spawns appears to once again be Valve’s strategy, as the floor shown in the banner appears to be the diagonal marked crossing that was a part of the map in all versions at the T spawn.
While it’s impossible to confirm without an official announcement, fans are already excited to see Cache return to the map pool, and to watch the can at T-spawn slowly roll over that crossing again.
The history of Cache in Counter-Strike
Cache was originally created by Shawn ‘FMPONE’ Snelling, becoming a part of the Active Duty map pool in July 2014 upon the release of Operation Breakout.
The map remained in the Active Duty map pool until March 2019, when it was removed in favour of Vertigo. Since then, the map has not returned to the professional circuit.
In September 2019, the map received a significant rework. Known colloquially as ‘Green Cache’ due to its mossy veneer, the map proved to be unpopular, with many PCs struggling to run the more detailed map at the time.
Out of the map pool, the map remained in FMPONE’s hands for six more years, with the map maker releasing a CS2 rework in March 2025. That version of the map was recently added to the FACEIT Season 8 map pool after a community vote.
In May 2025, FMPONE announced that he had officially sold the map to Valve, finally giving Valve full creative control of the map and all but confirming that it would return at some stage.
Valve later confirmed that they were working on the map in January, replying “It’s cooking” to a NAVI social media post about the map.
That slow-cooking finally seems to be coming to completion, with Valve’s latest teaser… maybe.
Are you excited to see Cache back in the map pool? You can discuss that on Insider Gaming’s Discord!
For more CS2 news, see the details of Stake and StarLadder’s announced circuit.
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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