Valve adds two new maps to CS2 beta, removes Mirage

Fariha Bhatti Published 30/06/2023

Seasoned Counter-Strike players would be pleased to discover that Mirage has been removed from Counter-Strike 2 beta. 

CS2 beta kicked off in March 2023 with Dust 2 as the only playable location. Eventually, Valve swapped out the dusty map for Mirage during the second beta wave, but players weren’t thrilled about the change. Now, the developer has removed Mirage as the only map, adding Nuke into the mix.

In June 29 release notes, Valve announced that Mirage is going away for now. Nuke will replace the classic location in all game modes, whereas Office will become playable only in Deathmatch and casual mode. 

Nuke is the new map in the CS2 beta

Mirage stayed in CS2 for almost a full month. During this time, Valve rolled out multiple fixes to the map, making it near perfect. It’s time for a new map to enter the battlefield so players can help the developer iron out any kinks before CS2 is released officially. 

New-look Nuke is clean, sleek, and brighter. Layout-wise, the map is still the same, just with a Source 2 luster to its lightning and aesthetic. After playing two summer-themed locations, players would find this indoor change of scenery refreshing.

It’s unknown how long Nuke will stay in the game, but technically, it should be the last map in beta before CS2 releases worldwide. Dust 2 was tested for almost two and Mirage for one month. If Nuke stays for even a month, it should coincide with the peak of summer in August, which was initially expected to be the release window for CS2. 

Besides Nuke, Valve has also added a new locale to Deathmatch and Casual mode. The Office is also available in all modes except competitive. It still has the hostage rescue mission as the main task, but Valve has added some finishing touches and fancy animations to the mode. 

All of this has already gone live in the CS2 beta, so if you have access, you may want to update your game to spawn into the new map. 

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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