Valve just dropped the biggest map pool bomb of 2026. Anubis is crawling out of its six-month grave, and half the Premier playerbase is already sweating.
The Return Nobody Asked For (But Everyone Needed)
Let's be real. When Anubis got yeeted from Active Duty back in July, the community was split. One camp celebrated—no more getting smoked through seventeen different angles on B site. The other camp? They'd been grinding that map for months, finally figured out the timing-based utility, and watched their win rate evaporate overnight.
Now it's back. Season Four starts January 20th, and if you haven't touched Anubis since summer, you're about to feel it.
What Changed While You Weren't Looking
Here's the thing most players don't realize: Anubis meta evolved in third-party leagues while it was out of Premier. Teams that kept grinding it in FACEIT and ESEA developed some nasty setups that the average ranked warrior has never seen.
The B site has become an absolute meat grinder. Pro teams figured out that stacking three players B with coordinated molly timings creates a near-unbreakable defense. You'll see this trickle down to higher elo matches within weeks.
Mid control matters more than ever. That connector area? It's basically the entire map. Whoever controls mid dictates the pace of every round. If your five-stack doesn't have set mid takes, you're griefing.
CT aggression is the meta. Forget playing passive and waiting for info. The best Anubis players are constantly pushing for map control, using the unique sightlines to catch Ts off guard during their setup phase.
Why This Destroys Your Map Pool Strategy
Season Three let you dodge certain maps pretty effectively. Got seven maps selected? You could basically guarantee you'd avoid your worst nightmare.
Season Four changes the math. Anubis coming back means your map pool knowledge just got stress-tested. And here's the uncomfortable truth: most players who hit their peak ranks did it by mastering 4-5 maps and permabanning the rest.
That strategy is about to get punished.
If you're sitting in the 15-20K Premier range and your Anubis knowledge is six months stale, expect some rough games. The players who kept grinding third-party will gap you with setups you've literally never seen.
The Real Talk Section
Look, I know the grind is exhausting. You finally hit your goal rank, your map pool felt comfortable, and now Valve throws a wrench into it because... Valve. That's just how it goes.
You've got two options. Either spend the next few weeks relearning Anubis fundamentals—the callouts, the timings, the common angles—or accept that your rating might take a hit while you figure it out in real games.
Neither option feels great. But that's competitive CS2.
And if you're already struggling to maintain your rank with the current pool, adding another map you don't know isn't going to help. Sometimes the honest move is admitting you need help getting to a rank where you can actually learn properly. That's what CS2 boosting exists for—getting you past the coinflip lobbies where nobody communicates anyway, so you can actually improve against players who use mics.
What The Pros Are Doing (And What You Should Steal)
Watch how pro teams approach Anubis T-side in the coming weeks. The meta has shifted toward slower executes with heavy utility usage. Gone are the days of dry peeking everything and hoping your aim diff carries.
Specific things to practice:
The Canal smoke from T spawn. It's a one-way that lets you take mid control for free. Most ranked players still don't know this lineup exists.
B site retake positions. If you're CT and you lose B, knowing the pixel angles for retakes is the difference between clutching and getting one-tapped through smoke.
A main aggression timings. There's a specific window where CTs can push A main and catch rotators. Learn it or get punished by it—your choice.
The Season 4 Timeline
Season Three ends January 19th. You've got until then to secure your Season Three rewards—don't let your rating decay.
Season Four drops immediately after. New season, new map pool, new grind. The early season matches are always chaotic because everyone's testing their map pool selections. Expect longer queue times for the first week as the matchmaking sorts itself out.
Who Benefits Most From This Change
Players who never stopped grinding Anubis in third-party are about to feast. They've got six months of evolved meta knowledge that Premier players simply don't have.
Lurkers and clutch players also benefit. Anubis has more isolated 1v1 scenarios than almost any other map. If your strength is winning duels rather than executing as a team, this map rewards that.
Who loses? Teams that rely purely on firepower without structure. Anubis punishes uncoordinated play harder than Mirage or Inferno ever will.
Final Verdict
Anubis returning is good for the game long-term. Map pool variety keeps things fresh and rewards players who actually put in work to learn multiple maps instead of one-tricking their way to ranks they can't maintain.
Short-term? Expect chaos. Expect losses you don't deserve. Expect teammates who haven't played this map since Biden was president.
But also expect opportunities. While everyone else is tilting off the planet about a map they forgot, you could be the one who grinds the demos, learns the setups, and farms free elo from players who refused to adapt.
Season Four is coming. The question is whether you'll be ready for it.