Counter-Strike holds a special place in the hearts of a lot of gamers. And today, it’s celebrating its 21st birthday. What started out as a Half-Life mod has turned into one of the most popular first-person shooters in the world with a thriving professional scene that attracts millions of viewers.
Counter-Strike originated as a Half-Life mod developed by Minh “Gooseman” Le and Jess Cliffe in 1999 that gained enough popularity for Valve to take notice. Valve acquired the developers working on the game in 2000 and released an official game that same year.
The game spawned a new title, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, in 2004, which was met with negative reviews. Counter-Strike: Source was the next game in the series and was the first title released on the Source engine. Counter-Strike: Source took the game to a new level of popularity and is where many current professional players started playing.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the latest game in the series and draws millions of players per month. CS:GO has a healthy professional scene that features teams from major organizations, such as Fnatic, G2 Esports, and Evil Geniuses.
CS:GO has recently lost some of its player base to VALORANT, a new first-person shooter from Riot Games with similar gun mechanics. It’s unclear if the new title will continue to attract Counter-Strike players, but future updates will likely keep a dedicated player base entertained.
Some fans are starting to wonder when a new Counter-Strike title will be released since CS:GO has been out for almost eight years. Valve likely has plans for future installments or a major update to the existing game, but it’s unlikely the iconic series will disappear anytime soon.
