Valve Buys Fan-Made Counter-Strike 2 Map in an Industry First Move

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Valve Buys Fan-Made Counter-Strike 2 Map in an Industry First Move

It’s a good day to be a Counter-Strike fan because Valve has officially purchased the fan-made Counter-Strike map Cache in a first-time move in the franchise. If you don’t know why that’s a big deal, then all you need to know is that Cache is one of the most iconic maps in the franchise, and we’re hyped to see it come back.

On May 23, 2025, Shawn “FMPONE” Snelling, the map’s co-creator, confirmed the acquisition after weeks of speculation following Cache’s addition to Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) via the Steam Workshop back in March 2025. Will we see it in the upcoming Major? Probably not, but we can’t wait to see the pros on it.

Valve just bought Cache, and it might be one of the best moves ever

The map’s co-creator, Shawn “FMPONE” Snelling, shared the news after weeks of speculation on X (formerly

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). Responding to a fan who pointed out his silence since March, Snelling confirmed Valve’s acquisition. He also expressed gratitude to both Valve and Salvatore “Volcano” Garozzo, the original creator of Cache.

Thank you for playing Cache.

Thank you to

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for allowing me to work on his original creation for so many years.

Thank you to

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for being

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!

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— FMPONE (@FMPONE)

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Cache has a long and storied history in Counter-Strike. It was originally created by Volcano as a custom map for Counter-Strike: Source. The map was rebalanced and overhauled by Snelling for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO). It officially entered CS: GO’s competitive pool in 2014.

It eventually became a fan favorite map because fans enjoyed the angles and sightlines of the map. It also has balanced gameplay between Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists and has iconic locations like the forklift at Bombsite A. However, it was removed from the competitive lineup in 2019 and largely maintained by Snelling himself 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)

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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

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The community’s response has been overwhelmingly positive. Players, esports teams, and content creators have replied to the post on X (formerly

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). 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.

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#Valve #Buys #FanMade #CounterStrike #Map #Industry #Move

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