When it comes to games that have a history of consistency and familiarity, very few can match what Counter-Strike: Global Offensive brings to the table. When it was released back in 2012, CS:GO was the game to be brought the player bases of Counter-Strike 1.6 and Counter-Strike: Source together. While it mostly succeeded in this endeavor, it wasn't without gowning pains. Thankfully much of that is in the past, so nowadays most players look forward to the future of the game.
While the future for the game is bright, Counter-Strike is a franchise that loves to pay homage and respect to its roots. As such it is one of the few, if not the only game that has remained mechanically identical since its inception. This familiarity extends to the maps that for some have surpassed 20 years of active competitive play. So, the best way to pay respect to these maps is to rank the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has to offer.
7 Anubis
As the newest map to be introduced into the active pool, Anubis has had some controversy upon its inclusion, to say the least. Designed by Roald, jakuza, and jd40, the map was first added to the game on March 31, 2020, to the Scrimmage mode before eventually being moved to Competitive 10 days later. This is notable as it was only the second map to be added to Competitive via this method as before this Cache was the only one to make it. Given this fact, there seemed to be a lot of positive feedback for the map since Cache is a very well-loved map.
It wouldn't be until November 18, 2022, that the map would be added to the official Valve active map pool, replacing the iconic Dust II. Immediately the player base voiced its confusion and apprehension as while the map received initial positive feedback it went through many changes and issues were highlighted throughout this time. As it is now Anubis has a long way to go before it is fully mastered and players can truly form an opinion on the potential of the map.
6 Vertigo
Originally a Counter-Strike 1.1 map created by Chris "Narby" Auty and introduced on June 27th, 1999, Vertigo was a surprising addition to the map pool when it was added. On March 28th, 2019, the map was added to the active map pool in place of fan-favorite Cache as the map underwent renovations. This was surprising, but not all that unexpected. Up to this point, the player base was expecting a lot of the older maps to receive facelifts and come back better than ever, but few expected Cache's replacement to be Vertigo.
As it stands the map is heavily CT-sided, especially at the casual level. While there are many options for the T-side to combat a lot of the strengths the CT-side has, many players have cited this to be difficult to execute outside of coordinated and disciplined teams. Meta changes since the map's introduction have done little to change this leading to most matches feeling boring and predictable as to the outcome of the game.
5 Ancient
As one of the few maps created by Valve, Ancient was released on December 3, 2020, as part of Operation Broken Fang. It wouldn't be until May 3, 2021, when the map was moved to the active map pool replacing Train. While Train was a well-liked and balanced map to the CS:GO community, there was some sentiment that it did start to feel a bit stale despite being one of the first maps to be reworked. This was apparent in the decline in pick rate at the professional level, but especially in casual play which is likely the cause for the removal.
Ancient is, unfortunately, also quite CT-sided with many of the same sentiments for Vertigo being shared here. Many would argue it is worse on Vertigo, but the pro scene has shown how effective T-sides can be at the highest level. With that being said the map has seen a few minor changes since its introduction to improve this imbalance such as improving player visibility. Despite its early and current issues, it does fare well in pick rate in both professional and casual play.
4 Overpass
Overpass was first introduced in the Winter Offensive update back on December 18, 2013, as the first Counter-Strike map created specifically for competitive play. Despite this fact, the map saw many growing pains upon its release and for once it wasn't due to being CT-sided. On release, the map appeared to be very T-sided with pros noting how easy it was to gain map control and execute on to the A bomb site.
Over time Overpass would receive numerous adjustments and tweaks to balance out the map and most would be well-received. Today the map is praised for its balance and unpredictable nature but remembered infamously for the "Fnatic/Olof boost" of 2013. During the fourth CS:GO Major at DreamHack Winter 2013 the professional player Olof "olofmeister" Gustafsson from the Swedish team Fnatic utilized an exploit known as "pixel walking" to gain an advantageous position against the opposing team.
3 Mirage
What started as a Counter-Strike 1.6 community map called de_cpl_strike created by Michael "BubkeZ" Hull, would eventually become the de_mirage known today when it was altered in 2004. Valve would later remake the map for the launch of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This version has been featured in every CS:GO Major Championships to date and has consistently been in the top 5 most played maps in both casual and professional play since 2015.
What has made the map a mainstay for so long is its balance, unique aesthetic, and low learning curve. The map has also gained a bit of a reputation for being a bit of an upset map in the professional scene. This and its age have led to community questioning when the map will inevitably get its revision, but until that day, Mirage surely has a lot more to give.
2 Nuke
As one of the oldest and most storied maps in competitive Counter-Strike history, Jo Bieg's creation in BETA 4.0 of the original Counter-Strike mod has seen iterations and remakes across every single game. Needless to say, Nuke is iconic and up there with the likes of Inferno and Dust II. Due to its reputation, it was the second map to receive a significant revision to not only update the aesthetic but also resolve issues that have persisted for years.
One of these is its CT-sided nature, which is likely what Nuke is most known for. While it was always a popular map despite this reputation, the casual and professional scene responded very positively to the changes. While many would argue it remains largely CT-sided, strong teams, structured or not, have options to be effective on the T-side creating a nice balance. Nuke remains in the Top 3 to 4 most-played maps in both casual and competitive play.
1 Inferno
Created by renowned map creator Chris "Narby" Auty for Counter-Strike version 1.1, Inferno would go on to be included in every Counter-Strike game and remain a mainstay of the competitive scene. Since the map has such a legacy it made sense that it would be an ideal candidate for a revision and would get just that on October 13, 2016.
Of all the map revisions, Inferno is likely the most faithful to the original with so little changed that it would be more apt to call it a facelift. Then again, it's not all that surprising so little was changed about the map since there were very few flaws with the map in general. Inferno is renowned for the balance it provides on both T and CT-sides, the high skill ceiling for players/teams to master the map, and endless replayability at the casual and professional levels.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is available on PC, and the game was also released on the PS3 and Xbox 360.