Counter-Strike: Condition Zero: three studios and the 2004 release

Valve’s overview page described Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (CS:CZ) as introducing single-player action and special enhancements for online play. The page named Gearbox as co-producer in early 2002, Ritual Entertainment in 2003 and Turtle Rock Studios by November 2003. The release was announced in a Steam news post dated March 23, 2004.

Key dates

Overview page names Gearbox and Valve, “coming Q1 2002”: Feb. 1, 2002 (archived copy)
Overview page names Gearbox and Valve, “coming Fall 2002,” Sierra Entertainment listed as publisher: Aug. 2, 2002 (archived copy)
Overview page names Ritual Entertainment and Valve, “coming Summer 2003”: June 3, 2003 (archived copy)
Valve says it is about to ship Condition Zero: Oct. 23, 2003
Overview page names Valve and Turtle Rock Studios, “coming November 2003”: Nov. 18, 2003 (archived copy)
Condition Zero released on Steam: March 23, 2004
Maintenance update to Deleted Scenes: March 29, 2004
Condition Zero 1.1 update: April 28, 2004

The 2002 plan: Gearbox and Valve

The earliest copy of the overview page, archived Feb. 1, 2002, described Condition Zero as a “co-production by Gearbox and Valve.” It promised single-player action and special enhancements for online play, with the game “coming Q1 2002.”

The page described a mission-based campaign in which the player is a squad leader in an elite counter-terrorist unit. It listed over 20 new missions, each with several objectives, set in places from jungles and arctic terrain to deserts and city streets. Players would rescue hostages, escort VIPs and defuse bombs.

The page also mentioned over 160 character combinations, riot shields and a co-op mode. Each mission map would also be available for multiplayer. Valve wrote that several tools and technologies made for the game would be released to the mod community after launch.

A copy archived Aug. 2, 2002 still named Gearbox and Valve, but the release window had moved to “Fall 2002.” That copy added a line saying the game would be published and distributed by Sierra Entertainment, Inc. under license.

Ritual Entertainment in 2003

By the copy archived June 3, 2003, the page described the game as a co-production by Ritual Entertainment and Valve, with release “coming Summer 2003.” It spoke of “an incredible collection of single-player missions.”

This copy mentioned the official CS bot, which it said allows for both offline and online multiplayer simulations. It also said Counter-Strike had gone on to sell over 1.5 million copies worldwide.

Valve and Turtle Rock Studios

The copy archived Nov. 18, 2003 named Valve and Turtle Rock Studios as the co-producers and gave the release window as “November 2003.” It described the single-player campaign as a Tour of Duty across the globe. The page also invited players to “play your favorite classic CS maps, now visually upgraded.”

A copy archived April 2, 2004 named Valve and Turtle Rock Studios as co-producers and gave no release window.

Page copy archived	Co-producers named	Release window on the page
Feb. 1, 2002	Gearbox and Valve	Q1 2002
Aug. 2, 2002	Gearbox and Valve	Fall 2002
June 3, 2003	Ritual Entertainment and Valve	Summer 2003
Nov. 18, 2003	Valve and Turtle Rock Studios	November 2003
April 2, 2004	Valve and Turtle Rock Studios	none

The Steam rollout

On Oct. 23, 2003, Valve wrote in a Steam news post that it was about to ship Condition Zero and that the game would soon be available through Steam. It said it would add content servers and bandwidth to the Steam network ahead of the rollout and test the changes under heavy load before release. The post gave one detail about launch day:

“The in-store date and the Steam release date will be the same day.” – Valve, Steam News, Oct. 23, 2003

Valve’s Steam news post “Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Released!” is dated March 23, 2004. Players who had pre-ordered through Steam were told to restart Steam and double-click the CS:CZ icon in their Steam Games list. Everyone else could buy the game at any time.

Valve also offered owners of a Counter-Strike Steam subscription a special price of $29.95 for Condition Zero if they ordered on Steam by April 1. A new dedicated server release for CZ was also available.

A Steam page archived June 4, 2004 carried the headline “Counter-Strike: Condition Zero now available on Steam!” It listed Steam features such as an instant messenger, automatic updates and a server browser.

Updates after release

On March 29, 2004, Valve released a small update to Condition Zero Deleted Scenes. Valve described it as a maintenance release with “no new content or gameplay features,” delivered automatically the next time players ran CS:CZ Deleted Scenes.

On April 28, 2004, Valve released the official 1.1 update for CS:CZ. The post listed these changes for Condition Zero:

New high-definition player models
New high-definition weapon models
New high-definition sound effects
A new Buy Package system
Custom Mission Pack support
Updated de_stadium_cz and de_dust_cz
A solid radar option
Various other improvements

The same post said Counter-Strike also received the solid radar option, along with improved flashbangs that do not cancel out other flashbangs and updated German localized files. For all Steam games, Valve listed improved game demo recording performance under Steam.