Counter-Strike 2000

About

Counter-Strike came out on November 9, 2000 for PC, then for Linux and Mac on February 14, 2013. On Steam, 97% of 170,415 player reviews are positive (Overwhelmingly Positive). 12,581 people are playing it on Steam right now, with a peak of 14,006 in the last 30 days. It is Playable on Steam Deck. The main story takes about 9 hours, doing everything about 761 hours.

Counter-Strike is a team-based multiplayer tactical first-person shooter in which players join either the Terrorist or Counter-Terrorist side and compete in objective-based rounds. The primary game modes involve bomb defusal and hostage rescue, played across designated maps. Players purchase weapons and equipment between rounds using money earned from eliminations and completed objectives, and eliminated players must wait until the next round to respawn. Originally a fan-made modification for Half-Life created by Minh Le and Jess Cliffe in 1999, it was acquired by Valve and released as a standalone retail product in 2000, becoming one of the most influential first-person shooters and spawning multiple sequels including Counter-Strike: Source, Global Offensive, and Counter-Strike 2.

What is happening now

Counter-Strike remains the enduring standard for competitive tactical shooters across PC and Mac since its 2000 debut. The game continues to occupy an outsized space in esports and gaming culture, with coverage regularly exploring both its technical depth and the demanding infrastructure surrounding professional play. Recent activity reflects the game's sustained relevance and reach. The women's competitive scene has faced disruption as rosters migrate to newer tactical titles like VALORANT. Meanwhile, the community keeps experimenting with the core experience - from control pad optimization attempts to a modder's successful port of the game to PSP hardware. Beyond the playing field, investigations into professional Counter-Strike reveal the grueling reality of top-level competition, examining the business and personal toll of esports careers. Developers of other multiplayer games continue to study Counter-Strike's design philosophy as a reference point for their own projects.