CS:GO turns 11 this Monday

The 21st of August is special for lovers of CS:GO. On that day 11 years ago, in 2012, the current version of the game was released by Valve. This was the fourth installment of the franchise, which has been in the hearts of gamers for nearly 23 years.

the sequence of Counter-Strike: Source was jointly developed by Valve Corporation e Hidden Path Entertainment. At launch, the game was available for Windows, OS X, Xbox 360. A PlayStation 3 version was released exclusively for US audiences. Linux also got a version, released in September 2014.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CS:GO! ✨🥳

The game that brought the 1.6 and Source communities together is celebrating its 11th anniversary today!👏 pic.twitter.com/N8NQEKULTY

– Mais Esports CS (@maisesportscsgo) August 21, 2023

Development and launch of CS:GO

Initially, CS:GO was intended to be a console port of Counter-Strike: Source, as Hidden Path tried to do. However, Valve saw the opportunity to make a new, more complete game and started the development of what would be CS:GO in March 2010, more than two years before launch.

Revealed to the general public in August 2011, the CS:GO Beta started in late November 2011 for just 10,000 people. During the testing phase, Valve invited professional players to test the game and give their feedback. The company announced the official launch at E3 2012.

Updates over the years

Valve didn’t release CS:GO and let it go. Throughout its history, the company has modified the game a lot, which even looks different when looking at the past and comparing. Graphics have been improved a bit, skins have been added, weapon audio has been increased, etc.

On August 13, 2013, Valve released the update “Arms Deal”, where he introduced something that all gamers love: skins. With that, the company put loot boxes in the game and also microtransactions, since to open the boxes it was (and still is) necessary to buy virtual keys to open them. The introduction of skins has boosted the cosmetics market on Steam and beyond. CS:GO’s virtual economy has become very solid.

In October 2014, music kits were introduced to Counter-Strike. The kits replace the game’s default music with songs by artists invited by Valve. If a player is featured in a round, for example, the song they chose will play for everyone present on the server.

November 2014 was the month that Valve added 44 multiplayer campaign missions and also a stats diary for the player to be able to see their performances in the matches they played. In 2018, CS:GO became free on Steam and gained the “Danger Zone” mode, which is not very popular.

In 2021, CS:GO received more major updates. Competitive game mode was created with shorter matches of 18 rounds. Mata-Mata became Free-For-All.

11 years and the end of an era

Despite the great success, CS:GO will cease to exist. This is because Valve announced in March 2023 the Counter-Strike 2a massive update of CS:GO with new graphics engine, sub-ticks system, map improvement and remake, enhanced audio system and more realistic utilities.

Valve stated that CS 2 will be released in the summer of the northern hemisphere, when it is winter in Brazil. However, the company has not released any official dates and the community only speculates on possible release dates, but nothing official.