Counter Strike: Global Offensive has a competitive matchmaking pool where specific maps are on active duty, while others are in the reserve pool. Both are available for the competitive pool matchmaking, and here we will discuss all the maps that are present for players to experience within the game.
CS:GO – All Maps in Competitive Pool (Active Duty)
The maps in CS:GO that are on the active duty are Dust 2, Mirage, Inferno, Overpass, Vertigo, Nuke, and Ancient. The other maps are in the reserved pool and they are called Premier, Anubis, Tuscan, Breach, Train, Office, Agency, and Cache. We will cover the reserved pool in a different guide.
Dust 2 – de_dust 2
Starting with the classic, most iconic and balanced map, CS:GO’s de_dust2 features two bombsites, known as Bombsite A (Hotel Aurore), and Bombsite B (The Kasbah), a middle section, with tunnels and catwalks that connect the bombsites. It is a very balanced map that has tons of medium and short-range encounters, with rare long-range encounters at Long A, Mid, and while lurking around the map.
The last Dust 2 update brought modern visuals and here are the images of everything. We have North African prop sets and new heights of texture resolution present in this map too, and you can read more about the update here.
Inferno – de_inferno
Inferno is one of the latest reworked maps by Valve as well a brand new, more saturated and modern look that makes it easier to spot enemies too. The map makers have reworked both bombsites as well as entrances & exits to make things feel less overwhelming for the attackers, opening up the second mid from the spawn too. They have worked on this while retaining the fundamentals of the map making defence strategies largely unchanged. Have a look at the map below, and you can read the update notes here.
Mirage – de_mirage
Mirage is a map that has largely remained the same since 2013, and is an iconic map in CS:GO that feels somewhat big like Inferno but somewhat balanced with short to mid-range encounters like in Dust 2. Here is how the map looks as of today, and you may read the patch notes of its update compared to the Classic Mirage here.
Overpass – de_overpass
Overpass is another bomb defusal map in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and it has a unique stacked map layout with an almost ‘underground’ site B that exists under bombsite A where CT players spawn. The T side has to enter using long open parts of the map or through vertically challenging corridors that the CT definitely use to their advantage to pop heads as the attackers emerge.
Vertigo – de_vertigo
Another classic map from CS 1.6 makes its way to the CS:GO modern-era redesign. Valve has made this rooftop map have a very remarkable feeling with the new design and it’s definitely an interesting design with two floors, height differences in angles, and close-range encounters with opportunity for flanking by jumping on top of props.
Nuke – de_nuke
Nuke is a very open and spacious map on the outskirts but the sites are vertically stacked with vents connecting them, along with hallways and a ramp leading to the B site. The CT have many options of defending and the T side attackers can climb on top of tankers for peeking from extremely high and distant angles. The map is set in a nuclear power plant facility.
Ancient – de_ancient
Ancient was released as part of Operation Broken Fang, back in 2020. It has the design of an archaeological site with surrounding forests, and it is in classic fashion a bomb defusal map with two bombsites, and interesting spots to hold like B Cave, a snipers nest at middle, and a tunnel area at A.
We hope that this guide helped you in knowing about all the active duty maps in the competitive pool of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Do read our other guides for CS:GO here.