Here’s why nobody wants to play Train remake in Counter-Strike 2

Train is a legendary Counter-Strike map, one of the very first settings introduced for bomb defusal. Once the map was filled with countless hours of matchmaking memories and pro clutches, before it was removed from CS:GO for its unpopularity.

Now, Train has made its return to Counter-Strike 2, remade with balance changes and a modern visual overhaul. Despite that, the community isn’t queuing up for the map, making it even less picked than Vertigo. Why aren’t players more receptive to Valve’s newest map addition?

Created in 1999 by Christopher “Cancerboy” Mair at Barking Dog Studios, the iconic Counter-Strike map de_train was inspired by a real train yard near their office. Train is one of the franchise’s first-ever maps after hitting Counter-Strike Beta 5.0. 

For years, through CS 1.6 and Source, Train’s core layout of two bombsites nestled among railcars and warehouses remained largely untouched. But it earned a tough reputation: those long sightlines and tight choke points made it notoriously difficult for Terrorists to break through, heavily favouring Counter-Terrorists. CTs enjoyed the long sightlines for snipers and gunning down Ts as they funnel into the site.

When CS:GO arrived, Train came along, but by late 2014, Valve decided it needed a major overhaul. They rebuilt it from the ground up, aiming for better balance and visuals. Released in December 2014 as part of Operation Vanguard, they reintroduced the classic map to modern standards.

Valve desperately wanted to make attacking the sites less punishing for Ts. Bombsite A was reworked so attackers could clear corners without instantly falling from multiple angles. The dark, cluttered yard was brightened and simplified. 

Infamous death traps like the Popdog train car vanished, the Ts’ sniper nest overlooking A was torn down, and the powerful CT heaven was adjusted. Countless other tweaks aimed to level the playing field.

For a while, it worked. The new Train thrived competitively, even becoming the most-played map in Majors in 2017. Train set the event for many memorable moments, including device’s 1v3 victory against NRG, Rain’s 1v4 win against Virtus.pro that forced overtime, and Karrigan’s clutch ace against NIP. Last and certainly the least, Summit1g’s dying to his Molotov in match point, allowing CLG to win the map in overtime. 

Yet, for the average player, Train remained intimidating. Its dizzying number of angles and lingering CT bias were barriers. Train became the least-played defusal map in matchmaking (just 4.17% of games). Pros abandoned it too, making it their absolute least-picked map by early 2021. 

The inevitable happened in May 2021. Valve removed Train from the Active Duty pool, replacing it with Ancient. 

After a three-year competitive exile, Counter-Strike’s iconic de_train finally steamed back into the game with the November 13, 2024, update for Counter-Strike 2. Initially limited to Casual and Premier matchmaking (delaying its pro debut due to an ongoing Major qualifier), it leveraged Source 2 engine’s power to create a gloomy, rain-soaked look for the railyard. Train was also teased through social media before its reintroduction.

The visual polish was secondary to the sweeping gameplay redesign aimed squarely at Train’s historic imbalance. Valve went hard in making the map more balanced and pug-friendly, removing many powerful CT positions. The most symbolic removal was CT heaven overlooking A site.

Ts pushing into A Yard found their main entrance significantly widened and the confusing back halls near Ivy were streamlined into a single, broader corridor. The beloved but gimmicky ladder drop is history, and Valve has rebranded popdog into longdog.

The layout adjustments for the two bombsites share the same philosophy: open areas, fewer hiding spots, and ironically, removed trains. The remaining train cars were repositioned to break up predictable sightlines and create more cover, but it left both bomb sites feeling exposed once inside. Defenders still have an advantage in this map, but the attackers are coming up with better executes as the meta develops.

Valve made a decisive move to add the new Train to the Active Duty map pool on January 8, 2025, replacing Vertigo. Later that month, Train made its first tier 1 debut in BLAST Bounty Spring 2025, featuring Spirit and Fnatic. The remake was present throughout tournaments and even made in time for the BLAST Austin Major. 

Competitive stats reveal that Train was consistently the lowest-picked map in tournaments, which is understandable because pros haven’t adjusted yet. However, the post-remake Train hasn’t shaken off its low popularity, struggling to win players over in matchmaking. The community feedback for the remake is overall positive, yet players aren’t lining up for the map in CS2.

In matchmaking, Train remains the least-played Active Duty map. During Premier Season 2, Train was picked in only 4.6% of roughly three million matches. This is even below the unpopular Vertigo’s pick rate, where it had a 9.7% last season before its removal.

This indicates that regular players, by and large, avoid queuing Train. The pattern holds in professional play: seven months into 2025, Train had been played only 834 times in recorded matches, dwarfed by the next least-played map (Inferno at 1,315). Train was played six times in the Austin Major, closely followed by Ancient with seven maps.

Valve’s shiny rework isn’t catching on as much as they’d like, but why is that? 

Train has long been considered one of the most tactically demanding maps. Its intricate layout, with vertical layers, long sightlines, and a maze-like structure featuring tight hallways and train cars, makes it time-consuming to clear angles. Players struggle rotating through uneven spanning, with areas that feel cramped and bomb sites overly exposed.

As a new map, many players haven’t committed to learning strats and utility executes yet. Random pub teams haven’t done their homework, and the map doesn’t forgive unorganised attacks because it’s still CT-sided after the overhaul.

Not everyone is happy with Train’s new design direction. Train streamlined its complexity so much that it became linear, focusing instead on individual mechanics similar to maps like Dust 2 and Mirage. Iconic areas like Popdog’s drop-down ladder, verticality, and multiple trains gave character to the map, where the two sides attempted to outflank each other like cat and mouse.

The remake took away a complex map design that could be learned and played alongside Nuke. Instead, it turns it into a pug-friendly, aim-centric map that feels too generic.

The initial release of CS2 Train wasn’t without bugs. Many players complained about glitchy hitboxes on the trains and certain surfaces where bullets and grenades sometimes didn’t behave as expected. Valve addressed these hitbox inconsistencies and visual glitches, but the impression left a lingering sour taste.

Additionally, Train is one of the more graphically demanding maps. Players frequently reported

severe FPS drops in contested areas. Some users have reported frame rates plummeting to unplayable levels, a persistent issue with CS2, particularly when transitioning from the optimised CS:GO.

Sometimes, popularity is self-reinforcing. Maps that are played more tend to get practised more, becoming staples that are comfortable for matchmaking and pros. Train was unpopular in CS:GO and fell out of the pool for years, and many players simply didn’t invest or are unwilling to invest time into it.

In pro play, many teams had Vertigo as a permaban; switching that ban to Train was the path of least resistance. This effect means Train is stuck in a vicious cycle of low play-rate leading to low familiarity and comfort, which in turn keeps play-rate low, leading to longer queue times.

However, given enough time and exposure, Train could climb into a healthy representation along with newer maps like Ancient and Anubis. There’s a community sentiment that Counter-Strike players are stubborn about changes, and the reworked Train is filled with changes.

Train’s path through Counter‑Strike resembles an old, once-busy station now sitting almost empty. Its stellar CS2 remake brought updates for balance and visuals, but few players or teams are boarding. 

The low pick rate shows that deep-seated issues, some unfairly inherited and some new, aren’t easily solved by an overhaul. After all, it’s still a remake of one of the oldest maps in the game, carrying the design philosophies of a two-decades-old map. 

Train is an amazing remake and deserves more attention, but there isn’t much Valve can do at this point aside from performance fixes. Here’s to hoping Train will make its much-deserved comeback with more time and exposure.