It’s been a long while since Valve launched the remake of the original Counter-Strike using the Source engine in 2004. Then last Friday, out of nowhere, the prolific game publisher unveiled Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a new team-based action shooter being worked on in-house with collaboration of Hidden Path Entertainment, who also co-developed CS: Source.
Details on the new game don’t abound just yet, but Valve was ready to show a pre-beta version to a handful of media outlets and CS pro players, so among the things we know is that CS: GO is slated for release early next year on the PC, OS X, Xbox and PS3 platforms, with a closed beta planned for this fall.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will use an updated version of the Source engine (Left 4 Dead, Portal, among many others), with remarkably improved graphics and animations all around. The game is expected to feature new maps, characters and weapons, along with favorite content grabbed from the original — de_dust, anyone?. It’s also been hinted by Valve they want their next title to be an e-sports title by nature.
