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 then-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]Counter-Strike 2 was announced in March 2023 and publicly released on September 27, 2023, as a replacement for Global Offensive.
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.
Gameplay
Counter-Strike is an objective-based, multiplayertacticalfirst-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, result in a penalty.[8]
Originally a modification for Half-Life, the development team was hired by Valve in 2000, when the company acquired the rights to Counter-Strike.
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]
Counter-Strike was followed up with Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, developed by Turtle Rock Studios and released in 2004. It used the Half-LifeGoldSrc engine, similarly 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]
Counter-Strike: Source was the first game publicly released 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 to those who had bought ATIRadeonvideo cards bundled with a Half-Life 2 voucher.[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]
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 was available for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux, as well as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles, and is backwards compatible on the Xbox One console.
On March 22, 2023, Valve announced Counter-Strike 2, which utilizes the Source 2game engine. It was originally announced as a free upgrade to Global Offensive with a summer 2023 release date.[17][18][19] On September 1, 2023, it was released as a limited beta,[20][21] and the game replaced Global Offensive on September 27.
Spin-offs
Neo
Counter-Strike Neo (stylized NEO) is a Japanese arcade adaptation of Counter-Strike published by Namco for Linux-based machines.[22] The game is set in a futuristic version of Counter-Strike, with characters featuring anime-like designs. A selection of single-player missions, mini-games, and seasonal events were added to prolong the players' interest on the game.[23]
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 Steamback-end.[24] 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.[25]
Nexon: Studio
In August 2014, Nexon announced Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies, a free-to-play, zombie-themed spin-off,[26] developed on the GoldSrc game engine.[27] On September 23, 2014, an open beta was released on Steam.[28] The game launched on October 7, 2014, featuring 50 maps and 20 game modes.[29] The game features both player versus player modes such as team deathmatch, hostage rescue, and bomb defusal, alongside player versus environment modes such as cooperative campaign missions and base defending.[30] Reception from critics was generally negative, with criticism aimed at the game's poor user interface, microtransactions,[30] and dated graphics.[27] On October 30, 2019, Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies was renamed to Counter-Strike Nexon: Studio.[31]
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.[32] As of August 2011[update], the Counter-Strike franchise has sold over 25 million units.[34] Because of its popularity, Counter-Strike has attracted considerable academic attention. Researchers have used data from Counter-Strike, among others, to examine the mood of players,[35] performance of obese players,[36] or performance changes since the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.[37]
^ abKöhler, 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.
