Valve Halts Release of Fan-Made Counter-Strike Remake on Steam After 8 Years of Development
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- After eight years of development made by fans, a Counter-Strike remake called Classic Offensive is denied by Valve for Steam release.
- Initially, Counter-Strike was a Half-Life mod.
- The Counter-Strike franchise sold more than 35.7 million copies worldwide.
After nearly a decade of development, Valve has denied the fan-made Counter-Strike remake, Classic Offensive, a release on Steam.
Despite being rejected for a Steam release, Classic Offensive is still available as a mod for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) on ModDB. However, its creators had originally envisioned a standalone release on Steam, which they claim had previously received approval.
The Classic Offensive team expressed their frustration in a statement shared with the community, citing an unexplained rejection after submitting their build to Steamworks.
“Since we’ve submitted our build to Steamworks, we’ve received an automated Steam Support message about having rejected our app without any reason explained,” the team said. “This is devastating, as we’ve worked on the project for almost 8 years now.”
The team claims they had taken all necessary steps to comply with Valve’s guidelines, including discussions with Valve developers and legal adjustments related to the usage of Valve’s intellectual property. They noted that their project had initially gone through Steam Greenlight in 2017, a now-defunct program that allowed the community to vote on which games should appear on the platform.
The developers detailed the history of their efforts, from working with Valve staff to creating a Steamworks mod page for the game. “We even discussed with some of the developers on different Valve projects, and they have been very cooperative in helping us figure out the means of release back then,” they explained.
For now, Classic Offensive will remain a mod for CS: GO, leaving fans of the original Counter-Strike to experience the game through this alternative. The Classic Offensive team has not indicated whether they will appeal the decision or explore other ways for a standalone release.Counter-Strike was originally released in 1999 as a mod for Half-Life, created by Minh “Gooseman” Le and Jess “Cliffe” Cliffe. Valve, the developers of Half-Life, later acquired the rights to the mod’s intellectual property and transformed it into a full retail product, launching it in 2000. Since then, Counter-Strike has become one of the best-selling video game franchises worldwide, with over 35.7 million copies sold globally.
