Counter-Strike

The Counter-Strike franchise remains the biggest and best-known in tactical shooters

Counter-Strike is one of the most enduring competitive multiplayer games on the market and has steadily grown with time. Its roots date all the way back to August 19, 1999, when it was first released as a mod for popular first-person shooter Half-Life.

Half-Life had a vibrant mod scene following its successful release, with many mods achieving broad popularity at the time. These included Team Fortress Classic, Day of Defeat, and more. But Counter-Strike would soon dwarf them all, establishing a dedicated following with its deliberate pacing marked by flashes of quick and decision action.

Counter-Strike was eventually given a retail release with the full support of Valve, who now own and promote the game and brand. Development of the original CS concluded with the release of Counter-Strike 1.6, and the franchise’s first entry is still typically referred to by that name.

Valve released an updated version of the game, Counter-Strike: Source, on November 1, 2004. The new version ported CS over to Valve’s proprietary Source engine, which also powered the release of Half-Life 2, released that same month.

The series would next be updated nearly a decade later with the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on August 21, 2012. The game has seen regular support from developer Valve since its release, with new maps and features being added over the years, as well as weapon skins so popular that they created an entire secondary marketplace.

Along the way, CS has cultivated a vibrant competitive scene. The roots of competitive CS date all the way back to 2000, and by 2001 major Counter-Strike tournaments were being hosted around the globe. The game was at the forefront of the early development of esports, and has remained prominent in esports ever since.

Counter-Strike 2 is now set to bring it the series to the next level with a long-awaited transition to the Source 2 engine. New graphics, modified gameplay, and altered maps are among the features boasted by CS2.