Following leaks from game testers at the end of last week, Valve has now officially announced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for release in early 2012 on the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam.
Few details have been revealed on the title at this stage, although the initial PR indicates that CS: GO will bring existing Counter-Strike content up-to-date while adding new characters, maps, and modes.
Valve appears to be favouring an 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' approach here, as tactical team-based FPS action is once again the focus while features such as new matchmaking, leaderboards, and weapons are layered on top.
Bringing the phenomenally successful Counter-Strike gameplay formula to consoles is also bound to be a major focus of CS: GO, as this will only be the series' second visit to consoles in its 12-year history (it was released on the original Xbox during the first half of the last decade).
Although Counter-Strike started off life as a mod, Valve has now released three full iterations of the series in the West. Following the first adaptation from the original mod in 2000, Gearbox Software's CS: Condition Zero was released in 2004 and added single-player bot games, while CS: Source was also released during that year and revamped the original CS using Valve's Source engine.
Both the original Counter-Strike and its Source remake have dominated the Steam most-played chart over the years, although Team Fortress 2 has mounted a serious challenge to its crown since the game went free-to-play earlier this year.
Hidden Path Entertainment will co-develop CS: GO alongside Valve having collaborated with the developer on CS: Source previously.
"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 Lombard, VP of Marketing 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."
No comments:
Post a Comment