Valve, the creators of the Steam online games platform and huge game titles such as Half Life and Portal, has announced the next game in the incredibly popular online shoot ‘em up Counter Strike, entitled Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO).
Global Offensive will come to PC and Mac via Steam as well as Playstation 3 via the Playstation Network and Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. The game is expected to be released on all platforms early on in 2012, though keen gamers will get the chance to play it early at the PAX Prime and Eurogamer Expo events later this year.
CS: GO will feature the tried and tested and much loved team-based multiplayer gameplay as well as a single player story mode. The original Counter-Strike, version 1.6 was first launched as a beta game in August 1999, with CS: Condition Zero and CS: Source being released along the lines but each struggling to rack up the massive fan base of the original.
Global Offensive will feature new maps, weapons, characters and storylines but also expand upon the classics first found in version 1.6 12 years ago. Undoubtedly the most famous Counter-Strike map, De_Dust, will be receiving a redesign for the game. Valve have also developed new game modes, matchmaking and leaderboards for the game, all of which will be accessible by the Steam online gaming platform.
“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.”
As a veteran 1.6 player and occasional CS:Source player, I’m very interested to see what Global Offensive will be like. Let us know what you think about CS:GO in our comments section below, or tweet us @Gadget_Helpline