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Classic Offensive, a dedicated community initiative aimed at merging the classic elements of Counter-Strike 1.6 with the advancements of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, has hit a significant roadblock. Despite eight years of development, the project faced a sudden retirement from Steam following an automated review by Valve, raising questions about the company’s support for such community-driven ventures.
The mod, known as CS:CO, entered “early access” in 2016 and underwent the Steam Greenlight process in 2017. After a lengthy development phase, it was anticipated for release in late 2023. The purpose of Classic Offensive was to harness a broader range of Source tools, similar to those used in Portal 2, to recreate a quintessential gameplay experience. The project aimed to alleviate concerns surrounding matchmaking, cosmetic purchases, and gambling, focusing instead on enhancing community engagement while blending features from both 1.6 and CS:GO.
Originally slated for a holiday release in 2024, the launch was postponed to early 2025. However, the recent removal from Steam has left the developers in limbo, especially as Valve has refrained from commenting on the situation despite prior interactions with the mod team.
In a statement shared on social media, the developers expressed their frustrations, emphasizing their adherence to Steam’s mod release guidelines throughout the project’s duration. They reiterated their commitment to lawful practices and stated, “The project has been sticking to the guidelines on how to release a mod on Steam… we’ve played by their rules the whole time.”
The developers noted the perplexing nature of Valve’s silence, stating, “Nobody at Valve told us to stop what we were doing… this feels like an even worse form of Cease and Desist.” They argued that many within Valve knew of their work but had not communicated with the team since late 2020, leading them to feel mistreated and undervalued as passionate contributors to the game.
This sentiment was echoed by notable CS content creator WarOwl, who remarked that the lack of explanation for the sudden setback was disheartening, particularly for the modding community, which thrives on collaboration and transparency. He noted the hard work put into the mod and lamented the absence of clarity from Valve, stating, “I’m not going to speculate on WHY this happened… but saying nothing leads people to assume the worst.”
Despite the disappointment, the silence from Valve regarding the mod has drawn scrutiny, particularly considering the company’s history of interactions with modders. A post on the /r/globaloffensive subreddit highlighted this issue, accumulating over 300 comments before the mod team removed it for breaching relevance rules. One of the top comments poignantly appealed to Valve, reminding them of Counter-Strike’s modding roots and urging the company to consider publishing Classic Offensive instead of seeing it as a threat. There is a prevailing concern that the recent automated reviews indicate a shift in Valve’s stance toward community projects, which could have broader implications for the way such projects are treated in the future.
Source
dotesports.com