Here’s a fun fact: I effin’ LOVE Counter Strike: Source. I played the original Counter Strike in high school….I mean literally, in high school, during my computer class, in between rounds of Team Fortress Classic, with my classmates. The games are a lot of fun, assuming you can find a server full of fun players who aren’t elitist pricks.
Now Valve has announced what we’ve been waiting for! Well, that’s a lie, it’s still not the MIA Half-Life 3 announcement, but they did just announce Counter Strike: Global Offensive. Press release, go, go, go!
Next Gen Console, PC, and Mac Release Targeted for Early 2012
Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO).
Targeted for release via Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam (for PC and Mac) in early 2012, CS: GO will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched exactly 12 years ago (CS beta 1, August 1999).
CS: GO features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust, etc.). In addition, CS: GO will introduce new gameplay modes, matchmaking, leader boards, and more.
“Counter-Strike took the gaming industry by surprise when the unlikely MOD became the most played online PC action game in the world almost immediately after its release in August 1999,” said Doug Lombardi at Valve. “For the past 12 years, it has continued to be one of the most-played games in the world, headline competitive gaming tournaments and selling over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise. CS: GO promises to expand on CS’ award-winning gameplay and deliver it to gamers on the PC as well as the next gen consoles and the Mac.”
CS: GO is being developed by Valve in cooperation with Seattle-based Hidden Path Entertainment. The title is targeted for release in early 2012 and will be playable at this year’s PAX Prime and Eurogamer Expo 2011.
For more information, please visit the CS: GO Steam page
A console release is pretty impressive, but not unprecedented: Counter Strike got a release on the original Xbox with the addition of offline bots for those who didn’t yet have access to the Live service.
So far, no word on what will be new and what will change the same, but we did get this awesome teaser trailer. It’s all pre-rendered CG, but it does show a pretty epic battle on Dust 2, and highlights what could be new weapon mechanics. We’ll have more information as it comes up.