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Valve’s upcoming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, scheduled to launch in 2012, is looking to position itself as the “definitive” version of the game and bring together the splintered Counter-Strike 1.6 and Source communities.
Speaking to Develop, writer Chet Faliszek highlighted the enduring popularity of both Counter-Strike 1.6 and Source.
“Version 1.6 and Source are pretty big players, right? They’re kind of the number-one first person shooters – there are a lot of games that have come and gone but those remain really pure and competitive games.”
Faliszek said the upcoming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is “the one that people should be playing – but we can’t force that. We need to talk with those players and try to understand their concerns.”
When Valve launched Counter-Strike: Source in 2004, an updated version of the 2000 original (known as 1.6 because of its version number), the community ended up splitting into two large groups.
“We know the 1.6 players and the CSS players are looking for something new,” Faliszek added. “I think they’d like something from us that can incorporate them into being one.”
Valve is also hoping that by establishing a definitive version of the game that the eSports community would see bigger tournaments with better prizes. “Both sets of pros would love to see a game that sponsors would see as the definitive version so they can have bigger tournaments.
Counter-Strike is unlike DOTA, in that it has a history of established tournaments. We don’t want to stifle that, we want to make this an organic process that will see those organisations grow even more.”
“It’s hard to overemphasise just how significant Counter-Strike has been, but it’s safe to say that all modern multiplayer shooters owe it a debt,” wrote VideoGamer.com in its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive preview.
