Few maps in Counter-Strike history are as iconic as Cache. Originally created by Salvatore “Volcano” Garozzo, the map evolved from a community project into one of the most popular competitive maps in CS:Source and later Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and CS2. Over the years, Cache received several major reworks changes while keeping the fast-paced style that made it a fan favorite.
Originally, Cache was released in 2012 by Volcano for Counter-Strike: Source. The map was inspired by the textures and overall theme of maps such as Train and Nuke. Its original release, including Volcano’s own description of the map, can still be found today at GameBanana.
Shortly after its initial release, Cache was ported to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
The map was then heavily reworked by FMPONE and panE before officially becoming part of the game with Operation Bravo. The map later returned in Operation Phoenix before eventually being added permanently to the Active Duty map pool.
With the release of CS2, Cache disappeared from the game for the time being. However, FMPONE reworked the map once again before Valve acquired the rights to Cache in May 2025. The first CS2 version of Cache can still be found in the Steam Workshop.
On April 29, 2026, the time had finally come: after another rework by Valve, the beloved map officially returned to the game and, as of today, is playable in Competitive mode.
In the future, the map is also expected to return to the Active Duty map pool. This would also bring it back to tournament play, hopefully delivering memorable highlights like the famous double kill by Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev.