What is this petition, and why Counter-Strike 2?

The petition is to show Valve Corporation that there is demand, and interest in a new and updated version of Counter-Strike: Source, since it remains extremely popular 5 years after the current version was released.

Update: More media coverage has been added - including this excellent article written about the Counter-Strike 2 Petition by IncGamers. (Go here to read it - It is one of the best write-ups the petition has had yet)

"See, petition creator Sam England is right: the series needs to catch the public eye again and mods won't cut it" - Tim McDonald - IncGamers.com

Join the petition on Facebook here.

Current Media Coverage

(Includes The Guardian Newspaper, CVG, IncGamers.com, Destructioud, Eurogamer, Official Xbox 360 Magazine, Hexus Gaming, Softpedia, GameRiot, GameRant, Ripten, eGamer, 2404.org, SteamFriends, MultiplayerGames.com, Brave New Gamer, Digital Battle, GamerCrave, GameFrag, CS-Nation, PCGames.de)

Do gamers get a raw deal? - Are consumers of videogames treated as well as those of other media? - Guardian.co.uk - February 2nd 2010

Counter-Strike 2 petition hits Facebook - CVG - 15th January 2010

Selected comments from this article:

That's one of the better initiatives I've come across from the gaming community. As a long time CS player myself, I would be sad to see CS fade from view and I would be thrilled to see a refreshed version released, possibly with some new functions, maps, weapons and aspects to the game play as well. - The_KFD_Case

As a very long term cs player (and cs:s) i think it's about time they 'reboot'(thanks cvg ) the series. It's the best core gamers FPS out there. Nothing can rival it. NOTHING.

i've been playing since cs 1.2. - feedel

I think a new CS game is due don't ya think?

jesus. - stedman

I actually met my now wife on source, and we now have a 16 month old toddler! it's funny cos i know some players who have played it for years and still haven't played it with a woman.

still i lucked out :) anyway i woul love to see a cs2! - slick loose

Counter-Strike 2 Petition Explained - IncGamers.com - 2nd February 2010

Considering Counter-Strike's origins as a hugely-popular user-created mod, we got in touch with petition creator Sam England to find out why it was important to make it an official sequel rather than assembling a mod team to create an update..

England told us that it's about the franchise, pointing to Counter-Strike's Pro Mod as evidence. The Pro Mod "recently been updated and serves some fans of Counter-Strike very well - though it doesn't update anything on the graphics, gameplay, maps or weapons front," according to England. "This is not what those seeking a Counter-Strike 2 want - Counter-Strike 2 should be a mainstream release."

"With Modern Warfare 2 surpassing £1bn [GBP] in sales last month it is clear that the games industry is no longer some kind of niche phenomenon," said England. "It's more mainstream than ever and the reality is no user-made 'mod' of Counter-Strike would bring the game back to its former glory."

"Ultimately Valve have the resources needed to produce a next-generation, high-definition, clean-cut and well-finished Counter-Strike 2 which will properly reinvigorate the franchise and provoke mainstream interest once again," England concluded. "It is the franchise which should be saved."

Historically, it's rare for petitions to have an impact on the games industry, but England notes that Gabe Newell has reportedly been open to the idea of Counter-Strike 2 and wants fans to tell him what their top priority was. As such, this one might actually stand a chance of working.

A Counter-Strike Love Letter - IncGamers.com - 3rd February 2010 (Highly Recommended - Excellent Article)

Many are the cynics who believe that this petition won't make a difference, and that Valve's numerous teams will work on what they want to, when they want to. They might be right. This doesn't change the fact that Counter-Strike 2 is something that has to appear.

Anyway: being that not everyone in the office is a filthy, filthy Mac user, there are a lot of fond memories of the original game floating around here. For me, it was a favoured after-school pursuit amongst a rather large group of friends, and we could be often be found on local servers, blowing great dirty holes out of each other and screaming about AWP WHORING and OMG WALLHAX FAGOTZ - happiest days of my life, I tell you, and not simply because I was the one with the AWP. There was just something about Counter-Strike. It didn't matter whether you were good or bad, because there was an almost Zen flow to the game: when you were having a bad week, you played terribly; when you were on form General Screenshotyou were floating on air. Certainly, starting off was incredibly rough. You were playing a fast and brutal team-based game, you had no idea what was going on, and you were going to die rapidly and repeatedly because you needed genuine skill to survive. When you actually got your very first kill, there was a palpable sense of euphoria and adrenaline, and this helped keep you coming back again and again.

See, petition creator Sam England is right: the series needs to catch the public eye again and mods won't cut it; the days when I'd happily download Action Half-Life or The Specialists or a far more niche mod in the hopes that it'd be good are, for me, long gone, and I doubt I'm alone. Likewise, Condition Zero was arse, and Counter-Strike Online will never, ever have any impact over here. I'm pretty sure that everyone still knows what Counter-Strike is, but it's the sort of thing that lies dormant in the back of your mind until someone reminds you about it. I haven't actually considered playing Counter-Strike for months - if not years - prior to seeing this petition, and for something that was such a huge part of gaming for years and years, that feels wrong. It's also very weird knowing that there are hardcore gamers out there that didn't take part in what was, weirdly, one of the biggest cultural phenomena gaming has had in recent years. So yeah, maybe the days of Counter-Strike as the byword for online gaming are gone and this is all a foolish dream, but sod it: Counter-Strike 2, please, Valve. Feel free to rejig it as massively as you did Team Fortress because, hell, you'll do your usual sterling work, no matter what the haters say. Just give us the one game that will remind people why Counter-Strike was king, and introduce it to a whole new userbase.

Gamers petition Valve for Counter-Strike 2 - Destructoid - 25th January 2010

England laments that there is "No longer a single iconic game on the PC," and who knows? Maybe Counter-Strike 2 could be that game.

I still hop on Source and 1.6 every now and then and play for a while. I would definitely be in to a new Counter Strike. - slowriot

Its one of the best if not the best online shooter of all time. - DUFFMcWALIN

CS 1.5 held my interest far longer than any other FPS, in fact, no other FPS even came close, that game had me for about 2 years, you're lucky if I want to play your game once in a while. So the answer is obviously a fucking yes. And it IS bullshit that Valve just cast aside CS for no reason whatsoever, at the very least they could start supporting the two existing CS games. - Coldbrand

I totally want a CS2, reason: I in all honesty have only started playing CS:S a week ago and bought it only a few months ago. I would love to see more people into it. - Shaunass NZ

100,000 daily players isn't enough for these guys? That's only for Source, CS gets 75,000. These are concurrent people connected AT THE SAME TIME.

Only MW2 beats these games, by 30k. - Satsumomo

Counter-Strike is still one of my favorite games of all time, I've been playing it since I was in middle school, I'M 23 NOW! I think I'll go play it right now. - overrated44

There's no need for Counter-Strike 2. Modern Warfare 2 fills that niche just fine. - Dexter345 - Editors Comment - Not on PC, and it's not Counter-Strike, completely different game play.

since iw/activision decided to pass on what could have been the biggest competitive fps ever, it would be smart for valve to take the chance. - eduh

A CS2 would be great! But that's a tough act to follow: they tried it with cs:source but it never caught on - source was a piece of shit compared with 1.6! so I'm not sure they even want to try that experiment again! - Solozaur

I'd be down for some CS2. - Holyetheline

Personally I think that Valve should just do the following, update the Source SDK as it's needing an overhaul for a while & package that with CS2 & Portal2. - fox01313

Fans skriver under på Counter-Strike 2 - Eurogamer.dk - 29th January 2010

Counter-Strike 2 petition has started - Official Xbox 360 Magazine - 15th January 2010

"Mainstream interest in Counter-Strike needs to be reinvigorated" - HEXUS.gaming - 26th January 2010

Counter Strike 2 Gets a Petition - Softpedia - 26th January 2010

While Valve has been cuddling some of its games, like Left 4 Dead 2 and Team Fortress 2, its older titles haven't received any serious attention in a long time. The last big update Counter Strike: Source received was in 2007, with the introduction of the Pure Servers and the "sv_pure," which was a very unwelcome decision by the community. As such, some are starting to think that, for games to be popular enough to receive Valve's affection, they need to carry "the mark of the sequel," the big 2.

Talks about an upgrade to CS have been going around for some time now, with the Pro Mod being the biggest one of them. As for work from Valve, one of the last talks about CS2 was all the way back in 2008, when Valve's Gabe Newell firmly said that Counter Strike 2 was not something that we might find in the next Orange Box.

But we also heard Doug Lombardi, the VP of marketing for Valve, saying that it "will never abandon Counter Strike." Even so, every time the topic of CS2 pops up in a Valve conversation, all we get are crickets.

And now, five years after the game was released, the community has decided that enough is enough, and a petition has been started, with CS fans from across the globe signing to get CS2 developed. The main thing the petition tries to draw attention to is the slow death of what was once the most popular first-person shooter on the PC. But while the market for multiplayer FPS is definitely here, Valve hasn't given any signs that it plans to resurrect the title. Modern Warfare 2 brought back the genre, and especially the multiplayer matches, into the public eye like no other game, but with the PC implementation Infinity Ward gave it, PC players didn't get all that much out of it.

So, if you want to keep the game alive, you can head over to either the petition's facebook page or its official site and give it a John Hancock and a reason for trying to keep it alive. After all, back in 2008, he said that if he got 50,000 replies to CS2 not being right around the corner, he might reconsider the game's cryogenic status. If Valve does something with the title, hopefully it will remember to not repeat mistakes of the past, like Dynamic Pricing, but fixing the buggiest issue in CS: Source would require a new engine entirely, so that would explain the wait.

The entire Source Engine has proven to have a serious problem with hitbox registration, something that even the ultra-polished Left 4 Dead 2 suffers from. And while this isn't really a problem in games like HL2: Deathmatch or Team Fortress 2, in CS:S, where aiming and weapon fire needs to be very precise and pinpoint accurate, it can be a nightmare. Nothing can be more frustrating than getting killed after you've already turned the corner because your hitbox "shadow" didn't keep up.

Counter-Strike 2 What if?: Pipe dreams or a must have? - GameRiot - January 26th 2010 (Featured on Digg.com Gaming - January 29th 2010)

Basically it sounds like these guys would be happy with Counter-Strike 1.6 or Source turning in to CS 2.0. They don't seem to want much other than the game maintaining its legacy and improving.

Official response to the above statement made in this article:

This is incorrect. The justifications for this petition outlined below clearly state that mainstream interest should be reinvigorated. A re-release of Counter-Strike 1.6, Source or a combination of the two is not what this petition is standing for. This would not reinvigorate the Counter-Strike franchise, and would not bring new players to the game. Infact, a combination of Counter-Strike: Source and Modern Warfare 2 [Have you played Hardcore Search and Destroy mode in MW2?] would probably be the ideal Counter-Strike 2. New maps, new weapons and new game modes alongside improved graphics are all stated below in the justifications for this petition. - CounterStrikePetition.com

Otherwise, the article at GameRiot is excellent, and probably one of the best written on the petition to date. The article hit the front page of Digg.com on the 29th January 2010. The following quote is a further extract from the article at GameRiot.

That kind of overhaul is exactly what Counter-Strike needs.  I realize the game is still widely popular.  The two games combined still have more regular players than even Modern Warfare 2, last year's top selling game.  The game is stagnating however and that is something the petition group dances around. 

There haven't been significant changes since the game's move to the Source engine and the reality is it still didn't change much.  The game was never a big fan of balance.  When only four primary weapons are used regularly a game isn't really striving for diversity.  We don't need a Modern Warfare-like roster of weapons to choose from but making all the guns have distinct characteristics and reasons for use would be nice. 

The graphics could use an overhaul as well.  The Source engine is officially dated even it doesn't look "1.6 terrible" quite yet.  No I am not asking for Crysis 2 eye candy but is it so wrong to have a fantastic game that also has great graphics?  Gameplay is always the most important but I am tired of having to settle for one or the other.

I'd also like to see more than defusal maps become the norm.  Am I the only one that absolutely loved as_oilrig? It is an amazing level that I consistently top-fragged on.  Bring Hostage maps and Assassination maps back to the forefront and balance them out.  They can update some of the old classics like Italy and Office and make them less one-sided. 

I would love to see a sequel of Counter-Strike in the future. Me and some friends have been playing CS 1.6 competitively for years but the other day we were talking about how outdated the game really is. Once you get a chance to play a game like MWF2 you realize how random CS is... I'll be willing to bet that this time next year 1.6 will rarely be played competitively.

Valve really does need to reinvent the franchise. They had the right idea with Counter-Strike: Source but the feel of it just wasn't the same.

Fix the hit boxes and give the game a more consistent feel and you'll see millions purchasing the game.

Prime example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGhsm30Hegs (skip to about 0:22)

I know random shots happen in all games, but come on. The guy wasnt even aiming the general direction. - ripstuntz

Counter-Strike 2 Petition Takes No Prisoners - GameRant - 27th January 2010

With sales numbers reaching beyond the 4 million mark, Counter-Strike has found it’s place as one of the all-time greatest first person shooters ever released.

I for one would love to see a Counter-Strike 2 released.

Valve Fans Petition for Counter-Strike 2 - Ripten Videogame Blog - 26th January 2010

Counter-Strike’s getting on a bit now. It used to be the icon of PC gaming, with millions playing and thousands playing competitively, both at LAN events and online. Obviously it still has a following, but some loyal fans think the series needs a bit of a reboot to bring in new blood.

It’s nice to see CS players welcoming new blood in. Usually they’re thought of as elitists and obnoxious idiots, but they’re a minority now, it seems. I genuinely feel that Counter-Strike is a great game, so I’m certainly not against a new version of the game. I also know that if Valve did put out a new CS game, it’d be brilliant. They know exactly what their community wants, and are prepared to give it to them. It’s also nice to see gamers petitioning for something good, rather than against something bad.

Counter Strike Fans Are Joining Forces — New Petition For CS 2 - eGamer.co.za (South Africa) - 26th January 2010

A group of Valve fans have come together in an attempt to shock the gaming world. Counter Strike fans up north have decided to create a massive petition to win Valves attention. Now, let’s be honest, Counter Strike has been around for years and it’s probably one of the best shooters ever — for competition play. Both old, and new gamers are both looking for a sequel to the original game as CS:Source doesn’t cut it. At all. The petition already has about 2500+ supporters and they are all looking for something new. Perhaps a Counter Strike 2?

Great idea … Still play and it would be awesome to have a new CS - snake2804

A Counter-Strike 2 Petition Emerges - 2404.ORG PC GAMING - 26th January 2010

Counter-Strike 2 petition hits the web - SteamFriends - 26th January 2010

Seems some gamers cant get enough of Counter-Strike and have started a huge web petition to let Valve know that gamers still want a new version of one of the most played games still today, Counter-Strike: Source.

Counter Strike 2 Petition Started - MultiplayerGames.com - 26th January 2010

The group who has organized the petition also have a point, stating renewed interest in the title would make the game relevant again, drawing players back and hopefully showing Valve that a sequel would be a wise business decision.

Good luck to the petitioners, and kudos to the Counter Strike community for keeping it alive for over a decade.

Counter-Strike 2 Petition Hits Facebook - Brave New Gamer - 15th January 2010

Counter-Strike 2 petition emerges - Digital Battle - 26th January 2010

I don’t know about you guys but Counter-Strike was one of the games that really got me hooked on first person shooters. I, for one, fully support the petition.

Want Counter-Strike 2? Petition Valve! - GamerCrave - 15th January 2010

More than a decade after Counter-Strike was released as a mod for Half-Life, a group of petitioners are calling for a sequel. Of course, it’s still possible to find a match in the original game, but that’s not enough for this rag-tag Facebook group, which is asking Valve to start working on Counter-Strike 2.

"Counter Strike 2 İstiyoruz..." - BolumSonuCanavari.com - 16th January 2010

Counter-Strike 2 Petition Hits The Net - GameFrag - 26th January 2010

The Great Counter-Strike 2 Petition - CSNation - 26th January 2010

Facebook: Petition für Counterstrike 2 gestartet - PCGames.de - 15th January 2010

Selected Quotes from the Facebook Group Wall

Completely agree. Surely Valve can top MW while retaining the features that make CS so good, dedis, mod tools, dev console, demo recording... - Chris Kreza Godfrey

I hope our voice will be heard by valve. - Train Rollin

Hopefully this will reach the right people at Valve. CS is the reason that Valve exists. I myself bought 3 copies of Half Life over the years and only played the single player through once. Never played Team Fortress myself, but CS and CS:S has been on my computer since Beta 2! CS is the most valuable property that... Valve owns, would be nice if they mowed the lawn and trimmed the bushes after this long. CS needs: Prone, Sprint and Aim, and a massive graphics upgrade but with the core CS game unchanged. CS 1.6 is by far the better game, but OMG fugugly. - Mathew Edlund

What you're doing for CS2 is awesome. I just felt like letting you know. Being 16, I remember playing 1.6 when I was 6 years old, when my father was still with me, and as petty as it is, it brings back some fantastic memories. Thank you. - Tom Harris

get the bullets and hitboxes to register better and its a perfect game!! - Roël Konings

best game ever, would love an update! - Matt Devlin

Counter Strike is the original game, if Valve keep there heads in gear, they could make a lot of money from a new one. And we would benefit too. Just don't change the graphics to TF2 graphics! - Stuart William Michael Huddy

I wait for CS2 as a miracle. Gave give it to us, bring us joy and happiness - Igor Bushovsky

It would nice to see a lot more about Counter Strike, its a truely remarkable game but its left in the shadows to the likes of the Call of duty series. Most people who play this game have no idea about CS, they tend to be mediocre console button bashers, if people realised the talent that a lot of pc gamers have and the challenge they bring I think CS could easily be the number 1 multiplayer game again. - Ben Hedworth

A CS2 would be B.A., especially knowing some of the top players from the first XD, i would LOVE to jump on this game and I KNOW a TON of people who would as well...sadly i dont know them all on facebook:/...but im sure they will get the message eventually....GO CS2 by VALVE!! - Lukas Yule

But it is a shame that they don't even have new maps for this and rely on modders. That is what I love so much about CSS. The maps are balanced. The game its self is balanced. Such a great PC game. - Ethan Cull

I agree they should come out with a new CS. But they really have to do something about the cheaters in the game as well. Kills the experience for me. - Spencer Beckley

wohoooo go gabe, go gabe, do it!!! cs 2 wäre der bringer - Jan-Oliver Petersen

Counter-Strike Source was good. But Counter-Strike 2.0 will be better! - Mert Büyüksağnak

I saw a quote by Gabe Newall saying that if he gets 15,000 emails he will seriously consider making CS2 - Scott Vinay

As you can tell from the number of Modern Warfare 2 sales, FPS gaming is big business, so it makes sense Valve should make a new Counter-Strike. - Robin Van Schuilenburg

I agree, then I can spend too long playing it EVERY DAY, join yet another clan, and get accused of hacking half the time! Good old times! - Kevin Catherines

i still play the original..but even with the amzing AI and intense gameplay...the graphics are starting to lose their appeal :S...i think valve will get a big surprise in their sales figures when this is released...perhaps even enough incentive to make a number 3? :P - Robert Ashworth

Oh yes... i hope gabe newall hurries up with HL3 unless its gonna be stupidly good:) then he can take his time. - Luke Bitton

I liked CSS more then CS:1.6 since inCSS the Hitboxes are much finer then in CS. But it's really time for a new CS. I havent played this game for about 2 years since COD4 is out. - Valtrim Aliji

I really reckon this would be awesome, I reckon valve could pull of topping COdmw2 Hopefully if Ep3 or HL3 ever gets done the source will be awesomely updated. - Luke Bitton

Pull your fingers out! - Shaun Rosati

Our vote will be heard! Long Live Counter Strike! - Geoffrey Ganci

I actually thought the original version of CS was better than CS-Source but i am all for another more modern version. - Leeroy Brown

Dear Counter Strike friends, I hope we get to acomplish the needed votes and that valve hear us. It has been way too long. I haven't played for some time due to restrictions but CS was one of my very first games and deff one my all time fav's!! Let's do this! Fire in the hole!! :)) - Itishmira Bikker

Hi all.. greetings from Turkey.. I'm progamer at CS:S and i will gain more people to this group in few days.. Hope Valve can hear us! :) - Tolga Arıcan

Don't get me wrong, I love CS:S, been playing since forever and will likely have a bash tonight - but it really is time to move on again, we need DX11, we need new maps, new models, more detail ... 5 years ... I need to take my CounterStrike gaming to the next level!! - Ashley Tarver

Common biches , make the game already ... I mean ... I won't play half life 2 forever you know - Mike van Renterghem

Forum Discussion

• Gamers petition Valve for Counter-Strike 2 - Hexus Gaming Forum (26th January 2010)
• Counter Strike 2 Petition - Gamerz Planet (22nd January 2010)
• Gamers petition Valve for Counter-Strike 2 - Steam Forums (25th January 2010)
• The Great Counter-Strike 2 Petition - Face Punch (26th January 2010)
• Counter-Strike 2 Petition - Preys World (26th January 2010)
• Counter Strike 2 - Bit-Tech.net Forums (17th January 2010)
• Counter-Strike 2 petition hits Facebook - DCEMU (15th January 2010)
• Counter-Strike 2 petition has started - Offical Xbox Magazine (15th January 2010)
• Petition to Valve for Counter-Strike 2 is gaining momentum - sign it here - Steam Forums (15 January 2010)

Why should Valve Corporation start production of Counter Strike 2?

With Modern Warfare 2 surpassing £1bn in sales earlier this month [Source: VG Charts], it is clear that the FPS genre is big business.  For many years Counter-Strike was highly popular; however with no updates since 2005 the Counter-Strike community is dispersing and moving to newer games like Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress and Modern Warfare 2 on PC. Counter-Strike 2 could come in the form of a complete rebuild, or just an updated and improved Counter-Strike: Source.  Either way with new maps, weapons and refreshed graphics the popularity of Counter-Strike will inevitably grow.  If Counter-Strike 2 isn't developed then we will surely see one of the most prominent and widely appreciated First Person Shooters in history disappear for good.

Mainstream interest in Counter-Strike needs to be reinvigorated. Modern Warfare 2 dominates the FPS genre on the console; though at the moment there is no FPS on the PC that compares to current popularity of Modern Warfare 2. The most popular multiplayer FPS games on the PC are either non-realistic, less mainstream games or simply very poorly executed ports of console FPS games like Modern Warfare 2. There is no longer a single iconic game on the PC which everyone can enjoy, and play together.  

The preference for realism in the FPS gaming genre has been clearly demonstrated by Modern Warfare 2 - therefore Counter-Strike, involving Counter-Terrorist teams combating Terrorists couldn't be more real, and topical. This applies wherever in the world you are, demonstrated by the sheer number of people from every corner of the world joining the Facebook group, showing their support and also visiting CounterStrikePetition.com  [Source: Google Analytics]

Counter-Strike is different to most modern FPS games as it focuses on the player's skill and not the amount of time played and upgrades 'unlocked'. This seems to have left a gap in the current chart FPS scene on PC, and players are demanding a game just like Counter-Strike.
Five years ago, when Counter-Strike: Source was released, the new generation of gamers may not have even had computer, which means the game if re-released could easily open up to a new audience. Unfortunately, Counter-Strike is becoming less prominent in mainstream gaming culture for the simple reason that whilst game play is still unrivalled, the graphics look increasingly dated, and the game has suffered from lack of updates and innovation on Valve's part.  Counter-Strike player figures are still surprisingly high due to the global fan base, though unlike games such as Modern Warfare 2, it's  no longer guaranteed that  your gaming friends will be playing – which a big part of what makes the online experience in  FPS games so appealing. The majority of Counter-Strike enthusiasts  support the idea of Counter-Strike 2, unfortunately there will always been a minority that play Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, and believe all future updates to be 'inferior', just as there is with any game franchise like Call of Duty.  More people than you initially expect have played Counter-Strike in the past and almost everyone has heard of the game at some point. It is an important part of gaming culture that should not be allowed to fade away, so let's bring Counter-Strike back in a big way. Reinvigoration of the franchise could easily be achieved with Counter Strike

Finally, we have been asked one question quite a few times by 'hardcore' Counter-Strike enthusiasts. "What is wrong with Counter-Strike: Source?"  The answer is nothing, (for the hardcore player who still plays it now) however, Counter-Strike needs to be back up there with the big leagues, and the only way to bolster mainstream interest and player-ship (like Counter-Strike used to have) would be to  release a new game as "Counter Strike 2". The franchise has a lot of potential, and even if it's simply released with some fixes, patches, additional official maps and a graphical upgrade Counter-Strike would then survive, become popular once again, would be saved from fading away. I am sure we will be able to make history with this petition.

The significance of Counter Strike and why it should not be allowed to fade away in to gaming history

Released in the year 2000, Counter-Strike remains extremely popular to this day. There are currently professional online leagues supporting Counter-Strike, such as the Cyberathlete Amateur League (CAL), and CyberEvolution, a pay-to-play league. Various LAN tournaments are held throughout the world, with the largest being the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), the Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC), the World e-Sports Games (WEG), and the World Cyber Games (WCG). Championship matches in these events are televised with commentary and analysis.

Counter-Strike is famous for the culture surrounding it, which includes everything from professional gamers and leagues, to excessive cheating and disruptive behavior. Certain professional teams (such as SK Gaming, NiP, Complexity, Team 3D, and fnatic) have come to earn a living out of it, while other clans and community based groups neither lose nor earn money via member donations which are self sustaining in return for administrator rights in servers involved in the community.

Half-Life and other contemporary games took full advantage of the advent of hardware graphics acceleration in the late 1990s, replacing earlier software-rendered games such as Quake. The continued popularity of Counter-Strike has meant that older video cards such as the 3dfx Voodoo3, ATI Rage 128, and NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 remain useful.

Signs of Counter-Strike's wide influence can be found in mods for games such as Quake III Arena, Unreal Tournament, and other standalone shooters such as Global Operations, America's Army, Call of Duty, and many more. There have been a multitude of games claimed by their developers, reviewers and fans to be "Counter-Strike killers," but none have seriously been able to dent its overall popularity. Server statistics in 2002 showed that Counter-Strike servers outnumbered their Battlefield, Unreal Tournament 2003 or Quake III first-person shooter counterparts at least 3 to 1. The popularity of Counter-Strike has generally been higher and has not dwindled like that of newer generation games.

However, as criticism of Condition Zero showed, the GoldSrc engine has already been surpassed by several generations of newer engines. Even Counter-Strike: Source has been criticized for not progressing the gameplay enough and failing to take full advantage of the Source engine

What is wrong with Counter-Strike: Source?

This is a frequently asked question - The answer is, nothing... (for the hardcore player who still plays it now) however, Nothing, if we want to boster interest in CS so more people play it, and if we want to regain mainstream attention in the game it needs to be re released as Counterstrike 2. Even if it was just re released with some fixes/patches, additional official maps, a graphical upgrade and a new shiny box... Counterstrike would then survive as a franchise and become popular once again. It would be a shame to let such a good FPS franchise with a lot of potential, simply fade away.

There is genuine interest in a "Counter Strike 2"

To demonstrate it's popularity, Counter-Strike Source is still one of the top games played on a daily basis in Steam's stats, aditionally, you only need to google "Counter Strike" to see there are 57,200,000 results found by the search engine. Not including the thousands of members in our Facebook group, the genuine interest can be demonstrated by Google Suggest (which 'suggests' searches based on frequently used search terms). People are searching for Counter Strike 2 'Demo', 'Beta', 'Release Date' and for word that it has been 'Announced'