CS2 map record
| Property | Details |
|---|---|
| Map identifier | de_palais |
| Scenario | Wingman |
| Creators | Maxime Poutiline, Alfie Bawden and Art Verina |
| Setting | Paris, France |
| Added | November 13, 2024 |
| Removed | May 7, 2025 |
| Current status | Historical CS2 map, removed from selection |
Setting and layout
Palais depicts the rooftops of Haussmann-style Parisian buildings. Its two central structures are the Hotel de Paris, presented as a three-star hotel, and an art gallery called Palais des Expositions. The Eiffel Tower and Tour Montparnasse appear in the distance beyond the playable area, reinforcing the Paris setting without forming part of the combat space.
The Terrorists begin on the hotel’s fifth floor. Counter-Terrorists start on upper floors of the gallery, with the two buildings and connecting rooftop spaces forming a compact Wingman battleground. The source describes a lit van parked outside the hotel entrance and a GIGN armored van in the block’s backyard near the gallery entrance; these environmental details suggest how each side arrived at its starting position. The map’s close building-to-building arrangement frames the encounter, while the exact round objective remains that of Wingman and Bomb Defusal.
Wingman context
Palais is classified as a Wingman map, the smaller-team Bomb Defusal format. Players compete around the bomb objective under the selected mode’s ordinary rules; the rooftops and gallery/hotel setting do not add a unique win condition. Because Palais has been removed from CS2’s map selection, this description documents its historical map design rather than promising that it can currently be queued.
The map was created by Maxime Poutiline, Alfie Bawden and Art Verina. The exhibition area includes a “Poutiline Retrospective,” a reference to one of its creators. Graffiti and environmental props throughout the level include additional creator references. These details help players recognize the map’s authored setting but do not affect bomb placement, movement or equipment.
Secret room quest
Palais contains an optional multi-step quest that opens a hidden room in Apartments. Start in the Bedroom by taking the key beneath the heart-marked letter on the glass shelf. Go to the Lobby, open mailbox number 7 and collect the wrench. At the bombsite, use the key on the Electrical box and activate it. Then, in CT Start, open the small white box under the counter and take its key. Pressing the red button in that box turns on a lamp and creates a chicken-shadow effect behind the CT spawn.
With those steps complete, go to Apartments and interact with the locked door of room 8. Inside the secret room is a chicken; interact with it three times to produce a golden egg. The Minitel terminal beside the chicken reveals the locations of ten golden eggs hidden around the map. This is a map exploration secret, separate from the normal Wingman objective and not required to win a round.
Golden eggs and quest outcomes
Finding all ten eggs causes an inflatable dinosaur to appear on the green box at the bombsite. Destroying the balloon starts rain across the map. A hidden room behind Apartment door 5 contains a ghost of the balloon, identified as Jean-Michel, alongside a candle and a mourning inscription. Killing the ghost stops the rain. The same hidden area includes a roof window that cannot be used as a route.
After all ten eggs are found, the freight elevator in the Lobby Area can be opened. Entering and falling through it teleports the player to the elevator at T Start, where the creators have placed a message and photographs of other maps they made. The Minitel at T Start then displays the map credits, with a cat watching. Milk taken from the refrigerator can be given to the cat. These events form a chain of optional discoveries; they do not grant a competitive advantage or replace the round objective.
CS2 history and availability
Palais was added to CS2 on November 13, 2024 and removed on May 7, 2025. The addition and removal dates describe its period in the CS2 selection, not a permanent guarantee of availability. A map can remain a documented CS2 community map after leaving the active selection. Check Map Rotations for dated pool changes and Community Maps for the broader map catalogue.
The entry covers the CS2 Wingman map, its documented layout, optional secret quest and CS2 availability dates. Other maps pictured inside the quest are references by the creators; their game histories do not change Palais’s own CS2 classification.