29/04/2026

Cache is back in CS2. I was initially super excited about this as it was one of my favourite maps in CS:GO. But one part has really annoyed and upset me. The S1mple graffiti has been removed, or at least has not been thought of. This, in my opinion, is extremely disrespectful towards not only S1mple but to the game as an e-sport. Counter Strike is primarily an e-sport and it specifically focuses on being a respected e-sport. People spend tens of thousands of hours training, building knowledge, practicing aim, learning strategies, etc. Events such as majors are held all around the world to host competitive Counter Strike, with large organisations such as NaVi, Team Spirit, FaZe, etc, to put on an entertaining, tense, and memorable show. In 2016, S1mple, one of the most famous and greatest AWPer of all time, did the impossible. He dropped from B Heaven, no-scoping someone mid air, then performing a second noscope on the last enemy over in B main. It was iconic, exhilarating, and a shocking scene, because this was no training session. This was a major. S1mple shook the entire crowd and to commemerate this, Valve added a graffiti to honour this incredible play and immortalise that moment in history.

The new CS2 Cache, made by Valve, does not include this graffiti. There are two reasons for not including it, and both of them are very disrespectful. The first reason is they simply forgot. Even forgetting this, on such an iconic map that the community has yearned for years, shows that they did not care much for the history of the map. Thus, they simply forgot one of the most iconic moments in its e-sport history. That is not good at all. The second reason is that they intentionally did not include the graffiti. Regardless of the reason they didn’t include it, none of them feel very reasonable. One reason may be for visibility, which doesn’t seem reasonable because it is on a wall, high up, it’s not in the way of any active angles. Another reason may be due to the age of the graffiti, which sounds silly but very possible, but also still disrespectful, as if it being old means it’s less valid. The more plausible reason would be to discourage the practice of the play. This reason is why they may have removed it, but I still don’t buy this because they could have remade the graffiti to be more abstract, to still refer to S1mple in a sort of “if you know, you know” way.

I understand that this is one small detail in the map, and that the rest of the map is still great. But this just simply feels like Valve are ignoring or dismissing the very foundation that made Counter Strike great, the e-sport scene. They also don’t seem opposed to keeping iconic graffiti, such as the CT in the flames on Overpass, immortalising the moment where Olofmeister defused in a dramatic Molotov with just milliseconds to spare. This graffiti is arguably more dangerous to keep since it could encourage players to take damage, same with the position of the graffiti as it is lower down and more in the way of player models.

So I really do not understand this. It feels disrespectful and dismissive. I hope they add it back in some form. This is the equivalent of rebuilding the two square pools of water that once held the twin towers but not including the names engraved on the border. That is a crude and extreme comparison, but it is similar in concept. The thought and memory matters a lot to the players and the pros. Despite what S1mple personally thinks of it, it still hurts to see, or more literally it hurts NOT to see. Also, the fact that Valve seem to be putting a lot of funds and effort into the money and skin economy sort of hints at their real priority. Adding terminals to bypass cases, adding a bunch of new collections to the armoury, updating the steam market UI, but then not adding Cache until now. Not adding Danger Zone. Not adding Cobble. Not adding the jumping scout gamemode. Not adding other maps that were in CS:GO. From a business perspective, yes money is important. But this is not just a game. For decades it has been peoples lives, it has been a serious investment emotionally. Not recognising that will create resentment.