Unveiling the Real Locations behind Counter-Strike's Maps

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Counter-Strike is a game where the gameplay comes first, and the detailing comes second. But let's take a step back here and actually try to use that detailing to figure out where these battles take place.
If you read this, comment "It's crazy that three counter-strike maps are located in Tennessee! The biodiversity of the US is truly underrated."
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Music used:
Everhood OST - At The Race Track
Tekken OST - Kitsch
GC - Grass
GC - Soda
GC - Drama
Everhood OST - Flower Shop
#cs2 #CSGO #Penguin

[@PenguinCS2]

SKINMONKER skinsmonkey.com/r/PENGUIN

[@caglarkorkmaz33]

omg is "skinmonker" skinmonkeys brother ?

[@forr35t]

@@caglarkorkmaz33 who are these skin monkeys i keep hearing about I only know SKINMONKER

[@theengineer-dellconagher]

​@@caglarkorkmaz33no, completely different

[@Stettinaus]

Thanks for this vid I thought Italy was in Budapest

[@Fastrox]

Me too.

[@the_untextured]

As an Italian, same. I actually still think it is in Budapest.

[@mikevismyelement]

Budapest is traditional Italian soil

[@russelw.6288]

Budapest is not a country tho 😂. Italy is in Hungary would suit more

[@memorimusic420]

This sentence sounds extremely American 😂😂😂

[@thenixaless7493]

Lebanese dude here! There is also a sign on de_dust2 that says "صيدلية المغرب" and "Pharmacie du Maroc", which is literally "The pharmacy of Morocco" in both Arabic and French respectively!

[@thesaddestdude3575]

I think a post from Valve said that Mirage was maroccan aswell.

[@samir_216]

it also has maroccan license plates on several cars

[@Red_wine]

CSGO old inferno was obviously Spain which is why they had the seperatist playermodel, which was based on the Basque nationalists.

[@Nico-qj6sx]

Actually it’s supposed to be a Mission I believe

[@barbedwirealarms]

@@Nico-qj6sxtook visual inspiration from one, not set in one

[@Nico-qj6sx]

@@barbedwirealarms The License plates on the cars are American I believe, same with the tanks blocking parts of the map

[@barbedwirealarms]

@@Nico-qj6sx why would a map set in america pit the british sas vs european terrorists

[@barbedwirealarms]

actually tbf EVERY map does that now, but old inferno was when valve still cared

[@XeagleXfraric]

About Inferno, The winery in library and the shop in top banana, opposite to car, have signs which roughly translate to "The Drunken Monk: The Great Wines of Tuscany" so yeah that might be an indication the map is in Tuscany not Sardinia.

[@nsf001-3]

Because level designers always use consistent themes that match the real world You know, when they're not busy making streets with no entrance or exit to make you wonder how the cars got there in the first place

[@sarimsalman2698]

Yeah the old Inferno was Spanish, and the Separatists were the Basque Separatists.

[@nkname48]

the Memphis joke caught me off guard :D the most "not valve-like" thing you do is telling us at the end what you got going on, appreciate it man

[@TheSabaton1]

mountain dew isnt banned in europe liek the brand, we just have more regulations on the ingredients so the make up of the drink is different here the toxic sludge also changed a bit in america after the controversy if i remember right

[@flax5162]

4:50 Favela

[@Hagebuddne983]

Immediately thought of that one too.

[@menottigaribaldi4024]

No, Bixio was one of the patriots who fought in Italy Indipendence wars, he fought along Garibaldi and while it's not as common as via Garibaldi I guess there are hundreds of via Bixio in Italy. Judging by the looks of the buildings and the relative flatness of the roofs and considering that is a huge mountain (still not as big as the alps) I'd say those are the Appennini, so Umbria or Abruzzo, but I'd say Umbria for the general feeling

[@Malam_NightYoru]

and honestly, Ancient is in Mexico because of the Architecture (DE_Aztec son, fr fr)

[@TheoHiggins]

I never knew where Overpass was set until the day I got home from Berlin, booted up CS, and immediately noticed the TV tower for the first time ever.

[@jurgenpeters1373]

The CS2 Version even features the berlin metro map. General speaking the whole "toilets area" is a clearly berlin subway station.

[@9domi99]

In CSGO it was the TV tower from Nuremberg though.

[@Genoville]

Happy to have Phrisk on the team to help me with Dharma. Thanks for featuring yet again!

[@mr.harith.dz.yt.]

Akshit?

[@Genoville]

@@mr.harith.dz.yt. yea

[@aquelepiquetaligado]

need the spongebob map

[@Genoville]

@@aquelepiquetaligado WIP, soon

[@achrafwashere]

Mirage is located in Morocco, Marrakesh, 2:59 "Agnaou Gate". Aswell Dust 2, which is located in Casablanca, Morocco. Thanks for the video!

[@menottigaribaldi4024]

Inferno is in Tuscany, it says so twice in T spawn, above library and twice on sandbags on top of Banana

[@xXMrPersieXx]

Mountain Dew is not banned in the european union. Atleast I can buy them in stores and Im from Austria and we are a part of europe and the european union. But I have only seen cans, not bottles. Its very expensive and most of the time gas stations sell it for around 3$ per small can. I also have seen a video about the Map Italy. The creator just took some stereotypical things from Italy and he actually has never visited Italy. So the creator had no real region in his mind but with the mountains your guess is still accurate. The only real Map which has a real place is probably Canals and the Wingman Map Rialto which are both located in Venezia in Italy. Rialto is the actual name of the bridge in Venezia. I have visited Venezia multiple times, especially the bridge looks very accurate.

[@skyalerino]

in Czechia we have large bottles of them too

[@refrsh]

romania has them too and theyre on the cheaper side of soft drinks (we have both canned and bottled, 500ml and 1l)

[@bevy9598]

Im from the US and met a guy from the UK who stayed here for a summer job.He told me that they use a different recipe and less sugar in the over seas versions. He actualy stocked up on cases to bring back with him when he left.

[@goofedman]

for Nuke, the wikipedia has it listed as being part of the "Rust Belt" I always assumed it was Michigan, didn't realize Tennessee was part of it because of the states long coal mining / industrial history

[@AForceGaming]

in Dust 2 there's a pharmacy sign that says "Pharmacy of Morocco" so it's obvious even if Cliff didn't say it

[@philipp-w]

2:11 Fun fact about old overpass: Although the map was based in Berlin the tower model was from a tower in Nurenberg

[@user-ue7yn7on4f]

3:16 wait, on official CS:GO trailer Nuke is located in Harz, Germany... or i missed something?

[@georgejpg]

You're missing that the location of the map changed with the rework in 2016

[@user-ue7yn7on4f]

@@georgejpg ok thx for answer!

[@dmrsdump3994]

@@georgejpg And I was mad because the GSG9 was my favorite faction due to their voicelines....

[@niofalpha]

For Mirage and Dust 2 some of the old operation mission names were "Trouble in the Maghreb".

[@anti-glassesgang7622]

Maghreb is north africa

[@lawry1337]

Especially old inferno was modeled after the San Juan Capistrano mission - ppl. even went there irl and showed off the huge similarities. There must be some reddit threads left if you wanna check it out.

[@BeastyBundy]

Actually Inferno changed locations too kind of, it has pretty weird history that I wish you had covered more. Most of the architecture on the CS:GO version was actually from a Spanish region of California, quite confusingly, also the music they play is all Spanish and the architecture in certain areas of the CS:GO version look quite Spanish as well, however, in CS2 they made it very clear they were now changing to be fully in Italy, with the architecture mostly changing to be Italian like you had pointed out, and of course the dozen of Italian flags.

[@kekwalla]

Canals at the end was so nice of you ❤

[@PillarofGarbage]

Nice video! I love seeing different people taking on this challenge. I think somewhere the Veneto region is a better candidate for Inferno, though - the landscape matches up a little better. I made an early video series with the same general idea as yours here & that's where I landed. That _was_ with the CS:GO map, though.

[@FloofysTV]

This is cool to see! Thanks for putting this together. The lore of the maps is always something I like to know about

[@vojtechtax9723]

A small addition to Dust 2, it was originally somewhere in the middle east, perhaps Palestine, as the CT faction was the IDF. This was obviously controversial and due to rising tensions in the region, its remake shifted the location to Morocco. The CTs were still the IDF throughout CSGO though.

[@turbotoke8882]

3:40 we have mountain dew, its just a very different recipe

[@turbotoke8882]

@davidmontgomery1442 its a very different color in europe, so i still think its very different

[@turbotoke8882]

@davidmontgomery1442 the UK isnt a part of the European Union, so idk.

[@turbotoke8882]

@davidmontgomery1442 Eu has different rules about what you can sell in food products

[@squidski_]

cs_climb was in Brazil and is getting a massive revamp for CS2 (I hear the mapmaker is very handsome)

[@Menta_]

the nuke version located in harz, germany will always be in my heart since i grew up in the harz mountains, germany

[@xamtastic]

Mountain dew isn't banned in the EU, they just can't use deadly shit like brominated vegetable oil. I'm in the UK and had mtn dew before brexit. Good vid btw

[@playingmantis9995]

ahh yes new york for vertigo, god bless those mountains in the background...

[@ooroshaza]

2:14 Overpass background used to be Prague in CSGO.

[@marco.]

2:17 I laughed so loud when you said Memphis hahaha

[@_TeXoN_]

I don't think that cs_italy is in northern Italy: -Parts of that region speaks German -The Dolomites have different mountain shapes -The general architecture is more like middle Italy

[@DaRealBruner]

de_inferno at least in counter-strike: source (and probably 1.6) is based on the real life mission san juan capistrano in california. I imagine cs_office in counter-strike: source is probably somewhere in vancouver, canada. judging by the snow and the fact a lot of the skybox building textures are in fact sourced from vancouver. they originate from marlin studios texture packs.

[@captainaxlerod1297]

Sentimental ending man ❤

[@Ullemeisterr]

"I bought a bottle of mountain dew and now it's a bussiness expense" 😂

[@DaniloKlass]

My bid is for a new map set in 6:37 Kowloon Walled City. Also for this video I think Canals from csgo deserves a shoutout for being maybe the only (?) map that largely accurately recreates an actual location. Piazza San Marco in Venice

[@dpinsy]

The only thing that sucks about Penguin videos, is that there aren’t enough of them. Keep ‘em coming 👍🏽

[@Jikannn]

Such a banger video, really simple concept but your unique style of commentary and sarcasm over the high quality clips just make it a masterpiece, keep up the good work dude! Your content never ceases to amaze me!

[@OnionSprite]

Counter-Strike actually got banned in Brazil for some time for a community made map set in Brazil, the map was named cs_rio

[@neilp.7138]

Your videos always are something im super excited to watch. You always have very insightful content on the game. Great work!

[@Kanoly]

We need more Cold, Icy, Snowy maps, like the old map De_Survivor. Or darker maps like De_Storm. I also remember having fun in De_Vegas 20 years ago. I'm sure they will bring back train and cache. I wonder if they will add De_Thera.

[@_kalemonkey]

4:53 hey nice to see akiba in this video. anyways I know Squidski and Coachi are working on porting cs_climb to CS2, so at some point in the future you'll get that Brazil map you want :)

[@REZER92]

Overpass is Located in Berlin Neu Köln you can see the Autobahn Streetsign from CT Spawn

[@forr35t]

Good vid! Happy to see you back

[@yl1045]

I am also waiting for dharma map, and hope it turns out good.

[@pangtundure]

2:41 there is a crate on Catwalk on top of a building saying Morc like that

[@jonajon91]

What's with the random shot of Abbey (goated map btw) at 5:30?

[@notscott3592]

Office is in Alaska. anchorage i believe. im pretty sure Valve has put out a description before saying so

[@0yale]

via bixio is just a road named with the ex-politic nino bixio, there ares like 100 roads like that in italy and i also live in that road

[@Perc1000]

thanks for the vid i thought rialto was in france

[@tylerory9745]

instant like for getting straight to the point 🎉

[@gui18bif]

I liked the "Sugarcane" theme in CS:GO.

[@OxenFloxen]

Inferno is based on a real location in California iirc and was originally set in Spain, which is why the T's used to be modeled after the Basque ETA terrorists

[@ayrain]

what map is this at 5:31 it sent me back in time but i cant name it

[@nightcoreedm5848]

6:51 "the battle's won and lost" witch in Macbeth

[@I_Want_You_In_My_Basement]

1:58 Inferno is located in Lucca in Italy. You can guess that by flag (Lucca's flag is on the mailboxes) and that tower with a bell.

[@nsf001-3]

These are great ways to tell who's been playing since "1.6" and who didn't really start til CS2 The idea that Dust2 took place in Morocco would've been laughable 20 years ago. It's always been a very distinctly Middle East influenced map

[@conjim5706]

iirc Half Life is set in New Mexico, USA, meaning the version of Nuke using the HL assets could also be considered for that area

[@mks_dan]

Cheers man, great vid

[@akshatkumar2262]

do you guys always molly barrel or car in banana inferno

[@youssfemorocco7276]

Dust2 is in kazablanka i know that from the buildings and car plates that have the letter ب and i think mirage is in Marrakech because the Moroccan style mosque in A site. and car plates د And Algeria have more Ottoman style mosque If i said something you think was wrong just tell me in the comments i love to hear 😁😁

[@houcemkabboudi]

Mirage has the same architecture as "Ouarzazate Castle" in morocco. So, it is in morocco. Also, Tunisia uses French and Arabic for their signs and it is next to Algeria

[@rickhardcore975]

While its clearly intended to look like Italy or Spain, Inferno was actually inspired by the architecture of San Juan Capistrano, a city in southern California.

[@mediziniert]

i really enjoyed the end part, nontheless like where is csgo's shoots or lake, cruise, zoo etc.?

[@loganp7044]

The real location truly is the friends we made along the way

[@matheusc.5839]

As a Brazilian, I freaked out a little when I noticed CS_Climb was located in Curitiba. Finally a videogame level in Brazil that isn't located in Rio.

[@ondraspendlik9759]

For Inferno, I'd say it's in Tuscany. Someone here said Tuscany is even written in a sign on the map. As for architecture, I'd say it is quite similar across all of Italy (at least when it comes to those narrow streets in small towns and villages). The map's logo also gives a hint, it's a clear reference to the logos of Ferrari and Lamborghini. Both of these brands are based in the Emilia Romagna region. Not quite Tuscany, but it's right next to it, they're both at the heart of Italy. For Brazil, I say there's Favela, for India, there's Gwalior. They're both quite old, but Favela is clearly based on Brazilian favelas (who would have thought), while Gwalior is based on a real life Indian fort of the same name. I'd love it if you went back and did this with other maps that we had in CS:GO / we now have in CS2. Former competitive maps (Cache, Train, etc.), operation maps, or even demolition/arms race maps. Would be fun to see! Edit: I completely forgot about wingman maps!

[@micioguardone1950]

Via Nino Bixio, It is one of the most common street names in Italy

[@realbangbang]

Cs_climb was in the map pool in csgo for a little while.. It's in Curitiba Brasil

[@JustaRandomGuy890]

Dust2 was also moved from Jerusalem to Morocco

[@Nico-qj6sx]

I could be wrong; but isn’t the original Inferno based on San Juan Capistrano in California?

[@lynxovski]

Wasn't Dust 2 censored by a location change? Im preety sure the IDF was operating there.

[@stephenhawkingsbeautywheel9080]

Nuke also changed places didn't it? Because in older versions of the map as well as in the trailer of CS:GO we were told that the map is located in Germany, to be precise in the Harz region.

[@atticusnari]

Did you watch the whole video? :)

[@Daydne]

New Penguin video, today is a good day

[@michuXYZ]

3:42 How is mountain dew banned if EU if i drank it like 2 weeks ago (Poland) and I even remember drinking it while on trip to Germany and Netherlands? Where did you get that info from? Only thing i know is that European mountain dew has a lot less unhealthy ingredients.

[@moderndaycain]

i’m not saying this rules out nuke being in tennessee. the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) is a real place in Oak Ridge. but that organization works all over the US. Oak Ridge is also historic for american history having been the location of the plants used to obtain u-235 for the manhattan project, so an organization based in a historic city for nuclear history giving an award to a nuclear power plant doesn’t really sell me on tennessee. but as stated previously, this doesn’t disprove your argument either. just fun trivia at the end of the day. 3:31

[@georgejpg]

Inferno is southern Italy, not Sardinia. Italy has a very large north/south split, explaining the separatist faction (Though none actually exist irl, as far as I know).

[@menottigaribaldi4024]

At 6:40 you rightfully says that CS maps are not part of the real world while using (as far as I know) the only real life location in the game, which is the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri), in Venice en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_Sighs Irony, isn't it? I don't mean to be a know-it-all, sorry if I come across like one, I just wanted to help you with more precise info. Love the video

[@Polpatnie]

I'm pretty sure that inferno also change location from somewhere more middle east like to Italy. Maybe i'm wrong idk

[@DarkZuckerberg]

Hey man, for future endeavors, Lebanon does not have dusty areas, like for example we don't have a desert. So it is unlikely to have dust themed maps based in Lebanon.

[@king_james_official]

3:42 bru what i remember buying some like 4 years ago

[@fvbtv2907]

I do not think the Italy map is next to the alps. I opened google earth went to street view on a small town in central Italy (Vico nel Lazio) and the mountain right next to it just so happens to look eerily similar to the one in the CS skybox, I guess I got pretty lucky haha. So I think the map is located near the Abruzzo mountains. But this is just based on the mountains alone so, just an observation ;)

[@saladeater-sn3mp]

u can also tell ur in berlin on overpass by the 1up graffiti its a real world crew

[@krtkek2899]

The CS:GO separatist models were based on real Basque separatist group ETA.

[@Morgul207]

Pretty’s sure office is in Denver/Colorado. Older incarnations has it in the mountains.

[@outrunkarma8551]

Mountain Dew isn't banned in the EU, it just has a different recipe from the us version

[@thetrashycan]

It's crazy that three counter-strike maps are located in Tennessee! The biodiversity of the US is truly underrated.

[@irkedcs]

Inferno's T spawn in older iterations before CS2 was based in a real place in California. Also the people on the radio in Office don't have a distinct Boston accent so ima guess Chicago on that one.

[@carlobeast4881]

In CSGO, the separatists in Inferno have Spanish accent and are clearly dressed as members of ETA. It was always confusing, since the map is clearly in Italy

[@Blorp_]

Edinburgh would be a beautiful location for a CS map

[@bcampera]

Brazil mentioned 🎉

[@zeNate]

I LOVE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE!!!!!!!!! I LOVE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE!!!!!!!!! I LOVE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE!!!!!!!!!

[@jamesricherson7233]

I dont think Inferno was ever set in California but the first csgo variant was inspired by the Spanish mission in San Juan California.

[@sven2win498]

Personally I just wanna say, killer intro. I wish people would do that more often

[@marcelismyname]

Mountain Dew isn't banned in the EU, it has a different recipe so it fits all the regulations

[@metasamsara]

I hope Mirage gets a Tunisia remake with shiny tiles and such. Apps needs world space reflection of light around the corners to spot enemies.

[@xenoqck]

found your password huh?

[@daffyxiii]

Mirage could also be Tunisia! The architecture could make sense

[@9domi99]

Canals was partially made from real places though. (Venice) That was somewhat crazy...