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Counter-Strike
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This article is about the video game series. For the 2000 game, see Counter-Strike
(video game). For other uses, see Counterstrike.
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike Logo.png
The Counter-Strike series logo.
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Developer(s)
Valve
Turtle Rock Studios
Hidden Path Entertainment
Gearbox Software
Ritual Entertainment
Nexon
Publisher(s)
Valve
Sierra Entertainment
Namco
Nexon
Platform(s)
Microsoft Windows
OS X
Linux
PlayStation 3
Xbox
Xbox 360
First release Counter-Strike
November 9, 2000[1][2][3]
Latest release Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
August 21, 2012
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Counter-Strike (CS) is a series of multiplayer first-person shooter video games in
which teams of terrorists battle to perpetrate an act of terror (bombing, hostage-
taking, assassination) while counter-terrorists try to prevent it (bomb defusal,
hostage rescue). The series began on Windows in 1999 with the release of the first
game, Counter-Strike. It was initially released as a modification ("mod") for Half-
Life that was designed by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe before the
rights to the mod's intellectual property were acquired by Valve, the developers of
Half-Life, who then turned Counter-Strike into a retail product.

The original Counter-Strike was followed by Counter-Strike: Condition Zero,

developed by Turtle Rock Studios and released in March 2004. A previous version of
Condition Zero that was developed by Ritual Entertainment was released alongside it
as Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes. Eight months later, Valve released Counter-
Strike: Source, a remake of the original Counter-Strike and the first in the series
to run on Valve's newly created Source engine.[4] The fourth game in the main
series, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, was released by Valve in 2012 for
Windows, OS X, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Hidden Path Entertainment, who worked
on Counter-Strike: Source post-release, helped to develop the game alongside Valve.
[5]

There have been several third-party spin-off titles created for Asian markets over
the years. These include the Counter-Strike Online series, Counter-Strike Neo, and
Counter-Strike Nexon: Studio.

Contents
1 Gameplay
2 Main series
2.1 Counter-Strike
2.2 Condition Zero
2.3 Source
2.4 Global Offensive
3 Spin-offs
3.1 Neo
3.2 Online series
3.3 Nexon: Studio
4 Competitive play
5 Reception
6 References
Gameplay
Counter-Strike is an objective-based, multiplayer first-person shooter. Two
opposing teams—the Terrorists and the Counter Terrorists—compete in game modes to
complete objectives, such as securing a location to plant or defuse a bomb and
rescuing or guarding hostages.[6][7] At the end of each round, players are rewarded
based on their individual performance with in-game currency to spend on more
powerful weapons in subsequent rounds. Winning rounds results in more money than
losing, and completing objectives such as killing enemy players gives cash bonuses.
[6] Uncooperative actions, such as killing teammates, results in a penalty.[8]

Main series
Release timeline
1999 Counter-Strike
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004 Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
Counter-Strike: Source
Counter-Strike Neo
2005
2006
2007 Counter-Strike Online
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
2013 Counter-Strike Online 2
2014 Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies
Counter-Strike
Main article: Counter-Strike (video game)
Originally a modification for Half-Life, the rights to Counter-Strike, as well as
the developers working on it, were acquired by Valve in 2000.

The game received a port to Xbox in 2003.[9] It was also ported to OS X and Linux
in the form of a beta in January 2013. A full release was published in April 2013.
[10][11]

Condition Zero
Main article: Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
Counter-Strike was followed-up with Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, developed by
Turtle Rock Studios and released in 2004. It used the Half-Life GoldSrc engine,
similar to its predecessor. Besides the multiplayer mode, it also included a
single-player mode with a "full" campaign and bonus levels. The game received mixed
reviews in contrast to its predecessor and was quickly followed with a further
entry to the series titled Counter-Strike: Source.[12]

Source
Main article: Counter-Strike: Source
Counter-Strike: Source was the first publicly released game by Valve to run on the
Source engine. Counter-Strike: Source was initially released as a beta to members
of the Valve Cyber Café Program on August 11, 2004.[4][13] On August 18, 2004, the
beta was released to owners of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and those who had
received a Half-Life 2 voucher bundled with some ATI Radeon video cards.[14] While
the original release only included a version for Microsoft Windows, the game
eventually received a port to OS X on June 23, 2010 with a Linux port afterwards in
2013.[15][16]

Global Offensive
Main article: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was the fourth release in the main, Valve-
developed Counter-Strike series in 2012. Much like Counter-Strike: Source the game
runs on the Source engine. It is available on Microsoft Windows, OSX, and Linux, as
well as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles, and is backwards compatible on the
Xbox One console.

Spin-offs
Neo
A Japanese arcade adaptation of Counter-Strike, the original Half-Life multiplayer
modification. It is published by Namco, and runs on a Linux system.[17] The game
involves anime-designed characters in a futuristic designed version of Counter-
Strike. A selection of single-player missions, mini-games, and seasonal events were
added to prolong the game's interest with players.[18]

Online series
Main articles: Counter-Strike Online and Counter-Strike Online 2
Counter-Strike Online is a free-to-play spin-off available in much of eastern Asia.
It was developed by Nexon, with oversight from Valve. It uses a micropayment model
that is managed by a custom version of the Steam back-end.[19] Announced in 2012
and aimed at the Asian gaming market, a sequel titled Counter-Strike Online 2 was
developed by Nexon on the Source game engine, and released in 2013.[20]

Nexon: Studio
In August 2014, Nexon announced Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies, a free-to-play,
zombie-themed spin-off,[21] developed on the GoldSrc game engine.[22] On September
23, 2014, an open beta was released on Steam.[23] The game launched on October 7,
2014, featuring 50 maps and 20 game modes.[24] The game features both player versus
player modes such as team deathmatch, hostage rescue, bomb defusal, and player
versus environment modes such as cooperative campaign missions and base defending.
[25] Reception from critics was generally negative with criticism aimed at the
game's poor user interface, microtransactions,[25] and dated graphics.[22] On
October 30, 2019, Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies was renamed to Counter-Strike
Nexon: Studio.[26]

Competitive play
Main article: Counter-Strike in esports
Counter-Strike has had nearly 20 years of competitive play beginning with the
original Counter-Strike. The first major tournament was hosted in 2001 at the
Cyberathlete Professional League. Cyberathlete Professional League, along with
World Cyber Games and Electronic Sports World Cup were among the largest
tournaments for the Counter-Strike series until 2007. In 2013, Valve hosted
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championships which became the most
prestigious tournament in CS:GO.[27][28]

Reception
Counter-Strike is considered one of the most influential first person shooters in
history. The series has a large competitive community and has become synonymous
with first person shooters.[27] As of August 2011, the Counter-Strike franchise has
sold over 25 million units.[29]

References
Cliffe, Jess (November 9, 2000). "CS V1.0 Released!". counter-strike.net. Archived
from the original on December 1, 2000.
Walker, Trey (November 9, 2000). "Counter-Strike 1.0 Released". GameSpot. Archived
from the original on May 15, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
Gibson, Steve (November 9, 2000). "Counter-Strike v1.0". Shacknews.
"Counter-Strike: Source beta begins". GameSpot. CNET Networks. August 11, 2004.
Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
"VALVE ANNOUNCES COUNTER-STRIKE: GLOBAL OFFENSIVE (CS: GO)". Steam. Valve. August
12, 2011. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved March 21,
2012.
Pinsof, Allistair (August 24, 2012). "Review: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive".
Destructoid. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Retrieved April 7,
2014.
Owen, Phil (August 31, 2012). "GAME BYTES: 'Counter-Strike' Lackluster". The
Tuscaloosa News. New Media Investment Group. Archived from the original on August
16, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017 – via Questia.
"Money system in CS:GO explained". Natus Vincere. Archived from the original on
January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
Fahey, Rob (June 6, 2003). "E3 2003: Counter-Strike". Eurogamer. Archived from the
original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
"Counter-Strike 1.6 Beta released". Steam. Valve. January 28, 2013. Archived from
the original on February 14, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
"Counter-Strike 1.6 update released". Steam. Valve. April 1, 2013. Archived from
the original on March 16, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
"Counter-Strike: Condition Zero for PC Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at
Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012.
Retrieved November 20, 2012.
"Counter-Strike: Source update history". Valve. Archived from the original on
February 22, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
"Counter-Strike: Source Strike ATI Customer". Advanced Micro Devices. Archived
from the original on April 9, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2008."Counter Strike: Source
ATI customer". December 2014. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015.
Retrieved December 23, 2014.
"Counter-Strike: Source Update Released". Steam. Valve. Archived from the original
on February 22, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
Dawe, Liam (February 5, 2013). "Counter Strike Source Has Been Added To The CDR
And Apparently Installable Too". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
 Niizumi, Hirohiko (September 27, 2004). "Nvidia partners with Namco". GameSpot.
CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved July 25,
2015.
Waugh, Eric-Jon (March 27, 2006). "GDC: The Localization of Counter-Strike in
Japan". Gamasutra. UBM plc. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
Retrieved July 25, 2015.
"Q&A: Valve Explains Why PC Gaming's Gaining Steam". Gamasutra. March 6, 2008.
Archived from the original on April 3, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
Mallory, Jordan (April 6, 2012). "Nexon, Valve announce Counter-Strike Online 2
for Asian territories". Joystiq. Archived from the original on March 4, 2015.
Retrieved April 1, 2013.
Yin-Poole, Wesley (August 7, 2014). "Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies heads to
Steam". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016.
Retrieved July 25, 2015.
Köhler, Stefan (October 26, 2014). "Tod durch Untote" [Death by Undead]. GameStar
(in German). p. 2. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015. Retrieved July 25,
2015.
Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 23, 2014). "Here's a (very) quick look at Counter-
Strike Nexon: Zombies". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on
July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
Prescott, Shaun (October 7, 2014). "Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies ambles onto
Steam today". PC Gamer. Future Publishing. Archived from the original on May 29,
2016. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
O'Connor, Alice (September 25, 2014). "Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies Shambles Into
Open Beta". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015.
Retrieved July 25, 2015.
"Counter-Strike Nexon: Studio". SteamDB. Archived from the original on May 3,
2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
Mitchell, Ferguson (September 4, 2018). "Esports Essentials: The Legacy of
Counter-Strike". The Esports Observer. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
Llewellyn, Thomas (September 17, 2018). "An eSports phenomenon: Counter-Strike".
National Science and Media Museum. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
Makuch, Eddie (August 12, 2011). "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive firing up early
2012". GameSpot. CBS Interactive Inc. Archived from the original on March 16, 2014.
Retrieved August 13, 2011.
vte
Counter-Strike series
vte
Valve
vte
Professional Counter-Strike competition
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