Map identity and CS2 release
Cache uses the Bomb Defusal objective: Terrorists carry the C4 Explosive to one of two sites and attempt a plant, while Counter-Terrorists defend or retake the site and defuse the bomb. Its industrial setting represents Pripyat in Ukraine, with the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant visible beyond the surrounding buildings. That setting gives the map its hidden-cache theme, while gameplay is organized around the two bombsites and their connecting routes.
The Counter-Strike 2 version was redesigned and released by Valve on April 28, 2026, after a CS2 Workshop version appeared in March 2025. This entry describes the official CS2 map and its dated patches. It does not use older-edition map-pool placements as evidence of current CS2 availability. Cache was added to Competitive, Casual, Deathmatch and Retakes with the April release; it joined the Active Duty group on July 8, 2026. Active Duty status and the set of available modes are separate facts, and later rotations may change either.
T Spawn, CT Spawn and first routes
T Spawn sits in an open field opposite the Counter-Terrorist garage. From T Spawn, the right-hand route reaches A through Long A or A Main. Moving forward leads through Garage toward Mid, while the left route enters B Halls. These branches let the attacking side choose a site or contest the central connection, but the map does not guarantee that a route is clear simply because it has been selected.
CT Spawn is in a garage on the opposite side. Turning left provides a route toward A past the truck; moving forward connects through CT Connector to Mid; turning right reaches the B side, including Heaven and the main doors. This arrangement lets defenders split between the sites and the center, then rotate when the bomb or opponent positions become known. Callouts should identify both the observed location and whether the information is recent, since a player may move between connected areas.
A site, Long A and A Main
Bombsite A is an outdoor parking area. Long A and A Main provide the two named approaches from the Terrorist side, while Highway is the sloped connection between A and Mid. The freight container and nearby crates form central cover. On the far side, a ladder reaches Balcony; a Forklift and boxes sit below it. A truck near the CT approach gives defenders cover while watching toward A Main. These landmarks are useful callouts because they distinguish the site’s entry, cover and elevated positions.
Long A is a mostly open corridor with a 90-degree turn and little cover. Its door into A is often called Squeaky. Opening it exposes an attacker to sightlines from Balcony and the top of the slope, while defenders behind the container or crates can watch the doorway. A Main has a single box and an open gate into the site: it offers a different view of defenders but is itself exposed. The layout therefore rewards precise position reports; “A” alone does not tell teammates whether the threat is at the door, behind central cover or overlooking the site.
B site, B Halls and Checkers
Bombsite B is indoors and contains stacked crates that provide cover. B Halls is the main Terrorist approach. It forms a C-shaped corridor from Garage through the small Dumpster connection, then opens toward Checkers and the site through separate gates. A courtyard beside B Halls faces a window above the site, giving attackers a place from which to throw grenades before entering. The room and its approaches create different callouts: a player in B Halls has not necessarily crossed into Checkers or reached the planted-bomb area.
Checkers is reached from Mid through the vent passage and connects to the side of B. Heaven is an elevated CT-side platform overlooking the site. These named positions help teammates distinguish pressure from the halls, the vent route and the elevated defense. Once a plant occurs, the task changes to the Post-Plant: the attackers protect the planted bomb while the CTs clear remaining positions and seek a safe defuse.
Mid, connectors and map flow
Mid is a large, open central space and a frequent point of contact. T Spawn reaches it through Garage; CT Spawn connects by CT Connector. Highway links it to A, and the vent passage on the Terrorist side leads toward B. T Mid is an open gate with limited cover and a quick route into vents. Mid Roofs names the small building beside the open area, while Sand Bags and White describe CT-side cover near the connector and slope. A platform near A Main overlooks much of Mid and can be reached by boosting a teammate, but it is exposed.
Because these routes connect both sites, control of Mid can provide information or create pressure toward either side. It does not automatically secure a bombsite: defenders may still hold the crossings and site entrances. Teams can use Smoke Grenade to block a sightline and Flashbang to support a crossing, but utility only changes the angles it affects. Clear communication about which connector, vent or site entrance is occupied helps teammates choose a rotation without treating old information as current.
Dated CS2 map changes
The April 29, 2026 follow-up adjusted bomb explosion radius and lighting around Vents. It changed collision and visibility on A and B, including the A-site e-box and the Checkers entrance at B Main, and adjusted grenade and player clipping across the map. It also addressed missing footsteps on A-site crates, a hole at the Sun Room door, wall penetration at the A Main wall and visual flicker around Garage. These are dated properties of the early official CS2 layout, rather than route instructions that should be assumed to describe every later build.
An August 3, 2026 update fixed map gaps and collision, corrected flickering assets and removed a boost spot in Outside A. On September 9, the map received additional gap fixes, a B-site wall-penetration fix, a missing Competitive CT spawn point and additional T Spawn points. The September 22 update adjusted gaps and clipping around the blue doors in Mid. Taken together, these notes document continuing collision and spawn-point maintenance after release. For pool changes, see Map Rotations; for the match objective, see Bomb Defusal.
Spawn routes and first rotations
Counter-Terrorist Spawn begins in a garage. Turning left and passing the Truck takes defenders toward A; moving forward through CT Connector reaches Mid; turning right provides access toward B, including Heaven and the main doors. Those choices create different response times: a player who commits toward one site cannot watch every Mid connection at once, so share which route is being held and rotate when the bomb or teammate calls change the read.
Terrorist Spawn sits in the open field opposite the CT side. Attackers can turn right into Long A or A Main for A, move forward through Garage toward Mid, or turn left into B Halls. A boost near A Main can reach an exposed elevated position overlooking Mid. The three broad choices let Terrorists threaten both sites and the center, but the open crossings and narrow entrances give defenders opportunities to contest them. Call the route and utility timing so players arrive together rather than one at a time.
Named connections and sightlines
CT Connector joins Mid to the CT side and can provide cover for a retreat or a sniper position through its window. Garage connects Mid toward T Spawn, while Highway is the long slope between Mid and A. Vents provide a route from the T-side of Mid to Checkers beside B. These links make Mid control useful for changing the threatened site, but an attacker or defender must still clear the next doorway and angle before assuming the route is safe.
B Halls is a C-shaped approach to the B site. It connects toward Garage by Dumpster and opens toward both Checkers and the site. A courtyard along B Halls looks toward a window over B, providing an angle for utility throws before an entry. At B, stacked crates offer cover and Heaven overlooks the indoor site from the CT side. On A, Highway, Balcony, Forklift and the freight container divide the open parking area into distinct lines of sight; Boost Boxes require a teammate boost.
Counter-Strike 2 release and pool history
Cache takes place in Pripyat, Ukraine, with the Chernobyl Power Plant visible from the Terrorist side. Shawn Snelling (FMPONE) created the map with collaborators; Valve purchased the rights in 2025 and released its official Counter-Strike 2 version in the April 28, 2026 update. This CS2 rebuild and release date are separate from Cache’s earlier Counter-Strike: Global Offensive history as a community map.
Map availability is a dated matchmaking fact, not part of the map’s layout. Cache entered the Active Duty pool with CS2 Premier Season Five on July 8, 2026, replacing Overpass. The pool can change in a later season, so use Map Rotations for the dated roster rather than assuming every competitive queue uses the same set. Cache remains a Bomb Defusal map regardless of whether it is selected in a particular matchmaking pool.
Cache returns to four CS2 modes (April 28, 2026)
The official Counter-Strike 2 release returned Cache on April 28, 2026 and added it to Competitive, Casual, Deathmatch and Retakes. The accompanying announcement describes Cache as a classic three-lane map and specifically tells players to clear Forklift, but the update does not redefine the map’s bomb objective or publish a new layout. Mode access is a dated availability fact; later map-pool rotations must be checked separately.
The announcement says the map should be familiar to returning players while remaining learnable for new players. This update therefore marks the CS2 return of Valve’s version and its initial queue set, not an assurance that all four modes or a particular ranked pool will remain unchanged. See Map Rotations for later availability records.
Map and objective corrections (April 29–30, 2026)
The April 29 update expanded the bomb explosion radius on Cache, adjusted lighting around Vent, removed player collision from a sign and removed a lamp by Squeaky. It reworked the A-site e-box for better visibility, lowered the Checkers entrance frame at B Main, and removed an air-conditioning unit above Sandbags while moving pipes. These are named sightline and geometry edits; the notes do not quantify the new blast radius or prescribe a route through the adjusted spaces.
That update also restored footstep sounds on crates at A site, fixed a world hole at the Sun Room door and wall penetration through the A Main wall, and addressed z-fighting around Garage. Grenade and player clipping were adjusted across the map. On April 30, Valve recorded map-wide clipping fixes and geometry polish, corrections for dropped-bomb spots where the C4 could become unreachable, dynamic-shadow problems, and surface sound types. The two dates are separate iterations of the CS2 Cache release, not one undated layout description.
For play, these notes identify places where visibility, collision, audio cues, grenade contact or objective recovery changed. They do not provide exact coordinates, new callout names or a full map diagram. Treat a dropped C4 as recoverable according to the corrected April 30 geometry, and use current in-game landmarks when calling Vent, Squeaky, Checkers, Sandbags, Sun Room, A Main and Garage. See C4 Explosive, Grenade Throws and Audio Settings for the related mechanics.