Counter-Strike 2 map details
| Property | Details |
|---|---|
| Map identifier | ar_pool_day |
| Mode | Arms Race |
| Creators listed for CS2 | Squall, leplubodeslapin and Wenceslas |
| Layout | Small and symmetrical, centered on a poolside area |
| Added to Arms Race map pool | June 25, 2024 |
| Later CS2 map changes | June 26, July 2 and August 14, 2024 |
Map identity and Arms Race
Pool Day is built as a small, symmetrical arena around a pool and adjacent structures. Its compact scale brings players back into encounters quickly after respawning and provides fewer long-distance stretches than a large objective map. The layout’s poolside cover, hot tub and nearby rooms make the immediate surroundings important as opponents approach from different directions.
In CS2, Pool Day is configured for Arms Race. Players respawn and advance through a weapon progression by earning eliminations; the final stage requires a Golden Knife elimination to win. The map’s CS2 configuration therefore centers on repeated combat rather than a standard Bomb Defusal round. See Arms Race for the mode’s full progression and victory rules.
Visual presentation switch
A clock in the Counter-Terrorist locker room controls an alternate visual presentation of the map. In the CS2 map, a player holds the use interaction on the clock for four seconds to switch the presentation, and the same interaction can return it to the modern look. This is a visual map feature, not an advantage that changes weapon progression or round objectives.
The interaction was adjusted shortly after release. On August 14, 2024, the clock switch was changed to a hold-to-use interaction while the player is exposed in front of the pool. This made it harder to trigger immediately after spawning as a Counter-Terrorist. The update illustrates how an environmental feature can affect player exposure even when it does not change the Arms Race rules.
CS2 map updates
Pool Day entered the Arms Race map pool on June 25, 2024. Updates on June 26 and July 2 addressed out-of-bounds movement, the hot tub, missing textures and objects, collision around the locker, and visual presentation details. The hot tub was adjusted so players could jump into it, while boundaries were tightened to prevent leaving the playable area.
The August 14 update also adjusted player spawn locations and rotations to reduce the risk of being killed from behind immediately after spawning. It added a damaging boundary trigger above the hot tub to prevent players from escaping the intended arena. These changes explain some of the map’s current CS2 safeguards: players are kept within the compact play space, and the spawn layout is tuned around fast respawn combat.
Reading the compact layout
Because Pool Day is small and symmetrical, no single poolside position should be treated as safe for long. After a respawn, opponents can re-enter nearby routes quickly; players should watch their surroundings and use cover to manage the next close engagement. The current weapon in the Arms Race progression also changes which distance and approach are comfortable. These are map-and-mode considerations, not claims that the layout gives one team an exclusive route.
The CS2 source record identifies Pool Day as a community map and documents its Arms Race configuration and dated map changes. Queue presence can change, so a historical map-pool addition should not be interpreted as a guarantee of current availability. Check Map Rotations for dated selection context and Community Maps for the CS2 map catalogue.
Community Workshop version refresh (August 14, 2024)
The August 14, 2024 CS2 update refreshed Pool Day to the latest Community Workshop version. The patch note does not detail the changes in that version. This entry therefore records the dated refresh only, without inferring an objective, layout change or new queue placement from the update.