Could Tuscan replace Mirage or Dust 2 in Active Duty map pool?

Tuscan is here and Counter-Strike fans are loving it, but Mirage and Dust 2 fans should probably be a bit worried about their map’s future in CSGO. 

The CS10 anniversary event has arrived in CSGO. It didn’t bring Source 2, but it did bring a batch of three maps including Tuscan, Anubis, and Breach. All three have been added to to official competitive matchmaking, and players are loving the chance to dig into the new venues. Tuscan is getting the most attention from fans, with queue times comparable to those of Mirage and Dust 2 the day after its release.

The modernized version of the classic Counter-Strike 1.6 map looks every bit as good as a Valve-made map and is likely just a tweak or two away from being competitively viable. That’s a much better starting point than Ancient or Vertigo had when they were added to the CSGO Active Duty map pool. Ancient was relatively unpopular in matchmaking before being added to the pro scene while Vertigo underwent several major overhauls in the year after being added.

With more than a year since the last change to the Active Duty lineup, things are likely going to change at some point over the coming months. Tuscan is the most obvious candidate to be added, but the big question is which map will get the boot?

Happy Birthday week, Counter-Strike! Today we are shipping the 10th Birthday Sticker Capsule and adding Anubis, Tuscan, and Breach and two new Wingman maps. And for this week only, players who rank up their profile will receive a limited time in-game item. https://t.co/wepCZlNus2

— CS2 (@CounterStrike) August 16, 2022

Is Tuscan going to replace Mirage or Dust 2 in CSGO active duty map pool?

There’s no predicting when or why Valve will change the CSGO active duty map pool, but Tuscan is definitely positioned to take a spot.

Though one might think that this discussion is premature given the fact that the map is very young at this point, Vertigo was declared an active duty map just nine days after its addition to competitive matchmaking. This came after a short run as a Wingman map. Vertigo underwent several major changes in the following months and the map of today is radically different from the one that was first added to pro play.

The key difference between Ancient, Vertigo, and Tuscan is that Ancient and Vertigo are actually Valve-made maps. Though Tuscan is based on a classic CS 1.6 map, it’s actually a community-made map. While other community maps have been given Active Duty status in the past, it’s unknown whether it could get that same kind of expedited elevation.