Counter-Strike fans, rejoice. Following Valve’s long-awaited June 6 update to Counter-Strike 2, those able to access the closed test won’t need to slog it out on Dust II anymore, with the map finally rotating out of the beta.
Instead, Valve has confirmed the port and addition of Mirage—arguably Counter-Strike’s next-most famous battleground—as the next CS2 test map following the June 6 update. It’s conspicuous timing, as today also marks the map’s 10th anniversary since its addition to the game way back in 2013.
Designed by Michael “BubkeZ” Hull in collaboration with Valve, Mirage has been a staple of the FPS title for a decade and, outside a visual update or two over the years, has largely remained unchanged unlike its peers Inferno and Dust II.
With Dust II’s removal for a rework in 2017, many turned to Mirage as their go-to map of choice—both for the casual player base and the hardcore professional scene. The map has been played over 23,000 times professionally, way ahead of the next-most picked Inferno, according to HLTV.
The CS2 beta shipped on March 22, and brought about massive new changes to the game we all know and love. In the interim, those fortunate enough to land access to the closed test were able to join unranked competitive or deathmatch modes—but were only given Dust II to play on.
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While many were excited after receiving access to the beta, most eventually became sick of just competing on just Dust II, citing the single map pool as a turn-off and resulting in a hefty player drop for the closed test.
While the map pool didn’t grow with this update for CS2, players with access will be keen to get their hands on one of Counter-Strike’s oldest and greatest maps in the new version.
