Anubis Reworks and SMG Buffs Could Change CS2 Meta for 2026

Although the return of Anubis may not have excited many fans, the map reworks revealed in the January 22 Counter-Strike 2 update may be enough to change their minds. Unveiled in a strangely euphemistic manner by Valve, before players had gotten their hands on the map, all they knew was that the changes would be “good news for fans of holes.”

Also receiving changes were the MP5, MP7, and PP-Bizon, with the three relatively unused SMGs all receiving some love in an effort to increase their usage. 

Anubis Gets Holes

Before Anubis was taken out of the map pool for Season 3, a lot of the criticism about the map centred around its T-sided nature. That was down to the ease with which the T side could take control of the Canals portion of the map, as well as the exec-heavy nature of the two bombsites.

To aid this, the drop-down in the Bridge area of Mid has been moved, with it now placed around the corner in front of the Mid Doors. This will make it far easier to fight into Canals from Mid, something that was a huge risk with the previous drop-down location. The new location of the Mid hole also offers a lot of new avenues of attack for both the T and CT sides, with NA streamer Austin “austin” Meadows already breaking down some of the possibilities.

Another hole was added around the B Site, adding some connectivity between Connector and Ninja or Back Site. Although it’s likely this change will allow for Ts to more safely molotov Ninja than they could previously, the bigger change is that it will make Connector an area that CT’s can re-contest by throwing incendiary grenades in the opposite direction.

The final notable change saw a box on the A site moved to the top of the stairs, rather than awkwardly being placed at the bottom. When it was placed at the bottom, it was only really beneficial as a post-plant location for the T side, whereas now it creates an extra angle to defend the site from for the CTs.

SMG Changes to Shake Up Meta

Outside of the changes to Anubis, three SMGs also received buffs within the update. Those SMGS, the MP7, MP5, and PP-Bizon, all saw their cost reduced by $100, with the MP7 and MP5 receiving extra buffs to their damage and their damage fall-off.

However, whether or not these changes will shake up the meta is yet to be seen. While it is now the cheapest SMG available to the CTS, the PP-Bizon is still one of the weakest in class. It doesn’t offer much damage over range, and the lower rate of fire compared to the MP9 makes it a weaker gun up close.

The MP5 and MP7 changes are more debatable as to whether or not they will change the meta. Now costing just $1400, that extra $100 can go a long way in terms of purchasing an extra piece of utility on a low-buy round. 

As seen in this spreadsheet made by Sloth Squadron on Reddit, both guns now also do more damage than the MP9, as well as having slightly better armour penetration. These two factors, when you combine them with the fact that they have the same damage fall-off as the MP9, mean that the range in which they can two-shot kill is almost doubled. Add on the fact that they also have easier recoil patterns, and the frequency of use could skyrocket, especially in lower levels of play.

The only real limiting factor at the highest level is that the $150 difference between the MP9 and the two buffed guns is massive. Even in the last week, Jonathan “EliGE” Jablownowksi pulled off an unlikely ace with the UMP-45, which only really happened because he’d bought the $1200 gun as opposed to the $1250 gun in favour of an extra piece of utility that would have otherwise been unaffordable with an MP9.

The simple factor of the extra $150 still could prevent the MP7 and MP5 from becoming meta, however, given that there is now an actual trade-off between the utility advantage and the damage advantage versus the much stronger T rifles, it’s probably a toss-up that will be making pros scratch their heads for months to come.