Among those who are interested in eSports, there is no one who has not heard about Counter-Strike at least once. But very few people are interested in the history of this unique shooter that was created in the last millennium.
At the beginning of its existence, Counter-Strike was conceived as a mod - there was no talking about its restructuring into a separate self-sufficient game.
Canadian developer of Vietnamese origin Min Lee, also known as Gooseman, can rightfully be called the father of CS.
Before Min Lee created the world-famous "mods" he had already had his hand in this business - the Navy Seals and Action Quake 2 mods for Quake were quite successful. Considering that Quake in the ’90s was not the last popular game, Min Lee was considered a pro at making game mods.
So one day, Min Lee decided to create a mod for the real king of games that still holds up today - for Valve's Half-Life. Half-Life's handy multiplayer provided plenty of opportunities for the developer's ideas, who at first didn't even have any hope of success:
"I was hoping that at least someone would play the game and that it would start with a few players and then grow..."
The fan response was really crazy, which really motivated Min to work on and improve the existing mod.
Feedback was structured and studied by Jes Cliff, who was the second Counter-Strike developer and administrator of the site from which the feedback came.
The first beta was released on June 19, 1999, but the game gained popularity only in early 2000. After that, Valve decided they simply couldn't afford to lose such a valuable employee as Lee. Over time, the company contacted him, took him on, and, they were not mistaken - it turned out to be one of the best decisions Valve has ever made.
From the beginning, the developers emphasized teamwork over the speed of gameplay, and it was a real success.
Counter-Strike gained popularity among gamers all over the world. The cyber-sportsmen were interested in the new approach and mechanics of the game. The basic principle was: "easy to learn, hard to master". That, from Lee's point of view, was one of the reasons why the game began to gain momentum quickly.
Once you started playing, it was hard to stop, because you wanted to get to the top. Thus, there was a live competition among gamers, which motivated them to improve their skills.
On August 12, 2011, Valve announced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive - a real breakthrough in the world of shooters.
Important new elements were added, viz:
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improved graphics
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Steam trading platform and workshop appeared
In 2012 when Counter-Strike saw the updated world, it began to break all the previous records and became one of the most popular cyber games on the planet. Prize funds reached millions of dollars, a huge number of tournaments, sponsorship contracts, and much more.
Now, being a professional player - has become a prestigious profession, which has long outgrown the mark of a "hobby". So come to it land, pump up your skills on the incredible new equipment, we wrote about here, and break into the powerful arena of eSports
