Cache is officially back. Valve's April 29 patch added the reworked map to Competitive, Casual, Deathmatch, and Retakes — the first time it has been playable in matchmaking since 2019, when it was rotated out for the original CS:GO Active Duty cycle.
Source 2 ground-up rebuild
The map is not a port. Valve purchased the rights from original creator Shawn "FMPONE" Snelling in May 2025 and rebuilt the geometry, lighting, and texture work from scratch in Source 2. The strategic identity — A-site through main and squeaky, mid control via top mid and Highway, B-site rotations through Heaven and the Forklift — is preserved. What's new: better visibility through Vent, cleaner hitboxes around Sign, the e-box on A-site reworked for clearer angle reads, and lighting that finally makes the map readable on lower-end hardware.
What's missing from this release
Cache is not in Premier matchmaking yet, and it has not been added to the Active Duty pool that decides Major rotation. Valve's pattern with Train's return suggests Active Duty admission will follow after IEM Cologne 2026, likely coinciding with Premier Season 5. For now, Cache is a Competitive-and-below map — pickable, playable, but not yet tournament-eligible.
Why this matters for the meta
The Active Duty pool has been static for the better part of a year. Cache joining mid-tier matchmaking gives pros and creators a low-stakes environment to rebuild map knowledge before the inevitable tournament rotation. Expect a wave of map-guide content over the next four weeks, and watch for which teams quietly start practicing scrims on Cache before the formal Major announcement.
