How CS:GO got Arms Race and Demolition: the Arsenal modes, 2011-2012

Valve announced two new game modes for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Sept. 22, 2011, both based on the Gun Game mod for Counter-Strike: Source and grouped under the name Arsenal. Demolition reached the CS:GO beta on March 9, 2012. Arms Race followed on March 29.

The announcement: Sept. 22, 2011

According to the CounterStrikeGO fan site, which posted the full text, Valve’s Doug Lombardi sent out a press release that morning. The release said “Arsenal: Arms Race” and “Arsenal: Demolition” would add eight new maps and “expand on the classic Counter-Strike gameplay.” It said CS:GO was targeted for release in early 2012 on PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam, for PC and Mac.

Valve said it was working directly with the creators of Gun Game. Michael Barr, project lead of Gun Game, was quoted in the release: “We are excited that Valve reached out and is working with us to ensure Arsenal Mode is the best version of Gun Game.”

Outlets explained the idea for readers who did not know the mod. Engadget wrote that in Gun Game players start with a simple gun and get more powerful weapons as they score kills. PC Gamer wrote that the mod replaces Counter-Strike’s cash-for-guns system with a kills-for-guns system, where everyone starts with a pistol and gets a new weapon for every kill.

Valve also released nine new screenshots. The fan site wrote that the eight Arsenal maps would sit alongside seven classic maps already confirmed to return, and that only four names were known so far: csgo_sugarcane, csgo_shoots, csgo_stmarc and csgo_baggage. Its writers speculated about the settings from the screenshots, guessing at a sugar mill, a plantation, a Haitian port town and an airport baggage area.

The fan site added that Valve was at Eurogamer Expo in London that weekend, showing CS:GO on the PlayStation 3 and handing out free T-shirts and beta keys.

Demolition enters the beta: March 9, 2012

Valve wrote in a blog post on March 9, 2012, that the first Arsenal: Demolition map was going into the beta. The post did not name the map. Valve described the mode as “a fast paced mix of bomb planting and gun progression.”

The rules in the post:

• There are no buy menus.
• You start with a rifle.
• If you get a kill that round, you get a progressively weaker weapon in the next round.
• Sides switch after five rounds, for a total of 10 rounds.

Valve wrote that the mode was based on the Gun Game mod and that the traditional version would appear later in CS:GO as Arsenal: Arms Race. It thanked the GG Team “for all their help” and wrote that it was adding 10,000 more players to the beta that day.

Demolition changes: March 16, 2012

A week later, the Steam beta update notes added St. Marc to Demolition mode. They also changed the format: the match “now consists of two 10 round halves.” The March 9 post had described 10 rounds in total, and the notes did not give a reason for the change.

The same update set a new weapon progression, spelled here as Valve listed it:

• CTsm4a4, p90, ump45, deagle, nova, fiveseven, hkp2000, ssg08, awp, awp
• Tsak47, p90, bison, deagle, nova, tec9, glock, ssg08, awp, awp

Valve also fixed a bug in which a player got a weapon upgrade on the last round before halftime or the team swap.

Arms Race arrives: March 29, 2012

The next beta patch came a day early, the fan site wrote, crediting Valve and Hidden Path. Valve’s release notes added two Arms Race maps, Shoots and Baggage, and described the mode:

• It is a single extended round with instant respawn.
• All players start with the same weapon and get a new one each time they kill an enemy.
• The progression ends with the knife.
• The first player to get a kill with every weapon wins the match.

The patch also added a “Find A Game” option to the Play menu. At first it offered Arsenal Arms Race and Classic Competitive, with map cycle groups for Classic Maps and Arms Race Maps. Aztec joined the classic maps.

Other additions in the same notes were two auto-snipers, the Scar 20 for CTs and the G3SG1 for Terrorists, and the Zeus x27, a Casual Mode weapon available to both teams. Valve fixed an end-of-match scoreboard that called Arsenal games a tie, and a Demolition bug that left players stuck in level geometry at the start of the second half.

The fan site wrote that by 3 p.m. EST on Friday, Valve had confirmed that the week’s beta keys had been released.

More Demolition maps and Arms Race tweaks: April 13, 2012

The April 13 update added four Demolition maps: Sugarcane, Safehouse, Bank and Short Train. Quickmatch now connected to the Demolition map cycle group. Find A Game now listed Arsenal Demolition, Arms Race and Classic Competitive, with groups for all classic maps, Arms Race maps and Demolition maps.

Arms Race changed in two ways. The progression now ends with a gold knife. Valve wrote that this was meant to show the difference between killing someone with a knife to steal their level and killing someone with a knife to win the game. A knife kill also now sets you back a weapon level only if you were killed by an enemy.

The update added more Arms Race interface elements: the next-weapon panels fill out and animate into place when you are awarded your next weapon, which Valve wrote conveys the progression better. Kill music stingers were also added to Demolition mode.

By then, the release notes had named the maps added for the two modes: Shoots and Baggage for Arms Race, and St. Marc, Sugarcane, Safehouse, Bank and Short Train for Demolition, after Lake in March.