"We have 1 hostage map in MM - make it 2"— CS2 Fans react to Italy being missing from active duty map pool

Currently, CS2 does not have a lot of hostage rescue maps. Office and Italy are the only two that the game has seen so far. While the latter was reconstructed for this title, it was never really allowed into the competitive map pool. Naturally, those who were looking forward to playing their matches on Italy were left dissatisfied with Valve because of this.

One CS2 player, @_ale_cs, took to X to express their frustration about the absence of Italy from the competitive map pool. They said:

"We have 1 hostage map in MM - make it 2 @CounterStrike."

User @Tafitson recalled securing their very first ace on Italy in CS:GO. The player noted how seeing the map in CS2's promotion material got them really excited. Unfortunately, they were left disappointed when the hostage map was only introduced for the Deathmatch mode.

Another player, @DennisNotiz, noted how Italy's absence in the competitive map pool was unsurprising since its exclusion wasn't out of character for Valve. The developer had also teased Train without actually bringing the map back. As such, @DennisNotiz said:

"Just Valve doing Valve things."

While some players were clearly upset with Valve, others were of the opinion that hostage rescue maps aren't exactly exciting to begin with. User @BananaJoe1337 thinks Italy is just "not a good map."

User @DanskiCS feels no one really wants to play on hostage rescue maps. They said:

"No one wants more hostage."

One player, @Nikola15Jokic, feels that all hostage rescue maps are beyond saving. They called for the scrapping of all such maps in CS2, even the ones in development.

CS2 fan calls for scrapping of hostage maps (Image via X/@Nikola15Jokic)

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CS2 and the absence of Train

Train (Image via Valve)

Train is one of the most beloved maps in the Counter-Strike franchise. And perhaps, more importantly, another map that has received little attention, just like Italy. It was teased during Valve's "Leveling Up The World" promotional material for this title as a Touchstone map, (a classic map with no major changes apart from some lighting).

The teaser was released over a year ago on March 22, 2023. But Train is yet to be introduced. Italy did not make it to the competitive map pool while this one didn't arrive in the game despite the hints.

Although Train is still missing from Counter-Strike 2, new maps such as Thera, Mills, and Pool Day were introduced during the most recent major update. These were actually workshop maps that were added to the title as part of different game modes. Around the time that these inclusions were made, fans were also expecting the game's first-ever operation to arrive.

However, that rumor also did not come true. If a new operation truly is under development, perhaps Valve could consider finally bringing back Train in CS2.