Envy is reportedly preparing to return to Counter-Strike after more than five years away from Valve’s competitive FPS, with the organisation set to acquire the current 3DMAX roster.
According to a report from Sheep Esports, Envy is expected to sign 3DMAX’s five-man French lineup, bringing one of Counter-Strike’s most recognizable former organisations back into the scene. The move would also reunite the Envy name with French Counter-Strike, more than a decade after the organisation first entered the game with a French roster and rapidly became one of the world’s leading teams.
No official announcement has yet been made by Envy or 3DMAX, meaning the acquisition should still be treated as a reported deal rather than a completed transfer.
Envy reportedly set to acquire 3DMAX roster
Sheep Esports reports that Envy is set to acquire the five French players currently representing 3DMAX, with the organisation expected to return to Counter-Strike under a roster led by Bryan “Maka” Canda.
The reported move comes after months of uncertainty surrounding 3DMAX. The organisation has faced allegations involving unpaid salaries, prize money and sticker revenue, while the roster has attracted interest from several organisations seeking an established route into Counter-Strike 2.
Envy had already been linked with the lineup earlier in 2026. Other organisations, including OG and Team Heretics, have also reportedly explored acquiring the roster, but the latest report indicates Envy is now positioned to take over the five-player lineup.
Sheep Esports reports that Envy would acquire the players and their Valve Regional Standings points without assuming 3DMAX’s existing debts. If completed, that would allow Envy to return with an established competitive roster rather than rebuilding from the bottom of Counter-Strike’s ranking ecosystem.
Who would play for Envy?
The move would see Envy take over the current French 3DMAX core captained by Maka. The organisation would consequently return to Counter-Strike with an all-French starting lineup, echoing the identity associated with some of the most successful years in Envy’s history.
3DMAX currently sits around the edge of the world’s top 30 in Valve’s ranking system after an uneven 2026 season. The team narrowly missed qualification for the Cologne Major after previously qualifying for three consecutive Majors, where it repeatedly progressed deep enough to finish just outside the playoff positions.
The roster has nevertheless remained competitive internationally. Results in 2026 have included a fourth-place finish at PGL Bucharest and a top-six finish at BLAST Bounty Summer, giving Envy a functioning competitive foundation should the reported acquisition be completed.
Envy’s history with French Counter-Strike runs deep
For longtime Counter-Strike followers, the significance of the reported move goes considerably beyond another organisation acquiring an existing roster.
Envy entered Counter-Strike in February 2015 by acquiring a French lineup featuring some of the country’s most prominent players. The organisation quickly became one of the leading teams of the CS:GO era and won the DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca Major later that year with a roster featuring Kenny “kennyS” Schrub, Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt, Vincent “Happy” Schopenhauer and Fabien “kioShiMa” Fiey.
The organisation’s French era eventually came to an end. In 2018, TalkEsport reported on EnVyUs releasing both its main and academy CS:GO rosters as the organisation prepared to shift its Counter-Strike operation towards North America.
Envy subsequently fielded several North American and international lineups but was unable to reproduce the success of its earlier French teams. Its final roster included players such as Noah “Nifty” Francis and Buğra “Calyx” Arkın before the organisation ultimately left professional Counter-Strike in January 2021.
TalkEsport’s 2021 Counter-Strike retrospective covered Envy’s departure from the game alongside a period in which several established organisations were reconsidering their involvement in CS:GO.
Why 3DMAX offers Envy a much easier route back into CS2
The competitive environment Envy would return to is significantly different from the one it left five years ago, particularly because Valve’s ranking system now plays an important role in determining access to major tournaments and qualification pathways.
Buying an established roster therefore offers considerably more immediate value than assembling five players from scratch. The 3DMAX lineup already possesses Valve Regional Standings points, tournament experience and a recent Major qualification record, giving Envy a route back into meaningful competition without beginning at the lowest levels of the ecosystem.
That helps explain why the French roster has reportedly attracted attention from multiple organisations during its prolonged uncertainty with 3DMAX. Despite the team’s difficulties during 2026, acquiring the complete lineup provides an incoming organisation with both competitive continuity and an existing position within Counter-Strike’s qualification structure.
A return to Envy’s Counter-Strike roots
If the acquisition is completed, there would be an unmistakable symmetry to Envy’s return.
The organisation entered Counter-Strike in 2015 with five French players, became a Major champion with a French roster and built much of its reputation in the game around that scene. More than a decade later, Envy now appears ready to begin its CS2 chapter in much the same way. The circumstances are very different. The current 3DMAX lineup is not inheriting the status of the Major-winning EnVyUs roster of 2015, and Envy would be returning to a Counter-Strike ecosystem that has changed substantially during its absence.
But acquiring an established French roster gives the organisation something more meaningful than simply putting its logo back into Counter-Strike. It reconnects Envy with the competitive identity behind the most successful period in its history while giving Maka and his teammates a potential route out of the uncertainty that has surrounded 3DMAX.
For now, however, the deal remains unconfirmed. Until either organisation announces the move, Envy’s Counter-Strike comeback remains a reported transfer, far from an official return.
