Counter-Strike Revolutionized Team Video Games and Is Now 25 Years Old
Back in 1999, the first beta for a video game called Counter-Strike was released and was set to revolutionize the industry of FPS (First-Person Shooter) video games. Counter-Strike was created by Minh Le and his co-creator, Jesse Cliffe. Le was a college student majoring in computer science at the time, and he designed the game in his spare time.
Le and his co-creator were very soon earning $20,000 every month from the advertising of the game. [1] “I honestly didn’t think Counter-Strike would be a hit,” said Le. The first Counter-Strike game was a modification of the popular game Half-Life that was released by Valve. Half-Life is a single-player game, but Le made Counter-Strike a multiplayer game. More than 100,000 players fight in two teams – one is the terrorists, who take hostages and set traps, and the other team is the counter-terrorists, supposed to prevent the terrorists from succeeding. [2] The game focuses on strategy and teamwork.
In Counter-Strike, death is permanent, and the player remains dead until the end of the round. This concept was critical to make the game so fun, based on Le. [1] The game is an emotional roller coaster, and players experience intense frustration from losses and joy from victories. The wins and losses can swing rapidly and unexpectedly due to the team-based combat.
After the game grew more and more popular, Valve Corporation, the original maker of Half Life, recognized the potential of Counter-Strike, and they asked the two co-creators if they could take over head development. The deal was finalized in 2000, and Counter-Strike soon became an official Valve product. Valve helped to release the first stable version in November 2000. [2] In 2004, Valve ported it to their Source engine, which brought more improvements. In the late 2000s, it dropped in popularity slightly. [3] However, they soon released the 2012 edition, which brought Valve back stronger.
The reason that Counter-Strike survived was because of its deliberate team-based combat, where most games were single-player shooting games. [3] Games like Counter-Strike, involving teamwork and a gradual timeline, were not very popular back then. Counter-strike influenced other games such as tactical shooter Crossfire, hero shooter Valorant and Overwatch. The effect of Counter-Strike is still significant after 25 years of its first release and is considered one of the most important video games ever made.
Sources:
1. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/arts/counter-strike-half-life-minh-le.html
2. https://www.digit.in/features/general/25-years-of-counter-strike-a-legendary-journey.html
3. https://www.pcmag.com/news/20-years-ago-counter-strike-changed-how-we-play-competitive-shooters
