Counter-Strike is a legacy of Half-Life that turned the entire gaming and esports industry upside down. In this article, we will discuss the contributions Counter-Strike has made to the world of esports.
How Did Counter-Strike Come About?
The history of CS's emergence is very similar to that of DotA. These projects share a common fact—they initially were just modifications to a main game. DotA was created thanks to the free level editor of Warcraft 3. Similarly, Counter-Strike was developed using a complete set of tools for modifying the original Half-Life.
Two enthusiasts, Minh Le and Jess Cliffe, who had experience creating mods for Quake, worked on their own game based on the popular Half-Life in 1999. The gameplay revolved around the confrontation between terrorists and counter-terrorists. They created an online-focused game, opened servers for it, and grew it to compete with the giant Quake.
In essence, Counter-Strike was a prank that got out of control. Riding the wave of its popularity, the activities of these two workers caught the attention of Valve, who offered them jobs. This was the most strategic move that would bring the company millions of dollars in the future. Valve acquired the rights to the game and hired Le and Cliffe as full-time employees.
Later, in 2000, Counter-Strike 1.0 was released, marking the beginning of an entire era. With this, we'll conclude the history of CS and move on to the most important things the legendary shooter brought to esports.
The Birth of Esports
Counter-Strike became one of the first esports disciplines. The game offered users classic matches between two teams, each with five players. The modes included hostage rescue and bomb defusal for counter-terrorists, and hostage holding and bomb planting for terrorists. The formula proved to be simple but effective. As a result, esports CS quickly gained popularity worldwide and has since only strengthened its position. Thousands of Counter-Strike tournaments are held annually.
Bringing the Community Closer to Esports
With the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a ranking and ranking system was introduced, taking the game to an entirely new level. Previously, even if players competed with each other, their skill was not recorded anywhere. The competitive mode now closely resembled esports tournaments, and gamers around the world grind ranked gamemodes.
Players quickly became addicted to ranked matches. After all, when your rank is at stake and you have something to lose, the excitement and adrenaline increase. This makes playing even more interesting.
Other developers realised what players needed, and similar ranking systems began to appear in other games. For some, these are just numbers or words, but for others, one of life's goals is to achieve the highest rank in Counter-Strike or any other game.
The Skin Phenomenon
Who in their right mind would spend real money on weapon skins in a computer game? As it turned out, almost everyone! Besides weapon skins, CS:GO introduced graffiti, stickers, gloves, knives, and even music kits. All of this was, is, and will be sold.
Yes, some skins and cases can be obtained for free at the end of a match, but they drop once a week. Moreover, to open even a freely obtained case, you need to buy a key for it. This created an entire economy within the community, and Valve started earning millions of dollars annually just from transaction fees.
Soon, skin collectors emerged, amassing the rarest and most beautiful versions of various weapons. Demand creates supply, leading to some skins reaching prices of tens of thousands of dollars.
Workshop
The Workshop is a set of tools allowing anyone to create something new. Whether it’s a map from SpongeBob or new skins. Counter-Strike is almost the only game where the community directly influences its development.
If you create a new map that gains massive popularity, it might eventually end up in the competitive pool for tournaments and matchmaking. Or if you design an incredibly beautiful skin that receives high praise from a wide audience, it might be included in a new case. Incredible, right?
Counter-Strike is like a drug that provides immense pleasure when spending time in it, especially with friends. The desire to play CS may fade over the years, but it never completely disappears. CS has been with us for more than two decades and doesn't seem to be going anywhere, continuing to evolve and contribute to esports.
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