Counter-Strike: Global Offensive launch: the road to Aug. 21, 2012

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive launched on Steam on Aug. 21, 2012. Valve had announced that date, and a price of $14.99, at E3 in June, and players with beta keys had been testing it since Nov. 30, 2011.

The weeks between the announcement and launch brought a pre-purchase offer, a wider beta and a first look at the community scene Valve expected to form around the game.

Spring 2012: a summer target and a split between platforms

On March 6, PC Gamer reported that, according to Valve, CS:GO should arrive in summer. The same report said Valve’s Chet Faliszek had told Joystiq that cross-platform play was gone from the game.

Faliszek gave a reason tied to updates on PC. “The beta has proved we want to update not just the beta, but the game itself post-launch frequently on the PC,” he told Joystiq. “To do that we need to separate the platforms so one doesn’t hamstring the other.”

In its June 4 report, PC Gamer wrote that a May 22 update raised player capacity in the beta from 5v5 to 15v15 and added chickens to de_inferno.

June 4: date and price announced

On June 4, Valve announced that CS:GO was targeted for release on Aug. 21, 2012. According to the announcement, which Engadget’s Joystiq published, the game would be available through the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam for PC and Mac. Valve said it would sell for approximately $15 on all platforms. Joystiq listed the Xbox 360 price as 1200 MS Points.

Valve described CS:GO as expanding on the team-based gameplay pioneered when Counter-Strike launched almost 13 years earlier, with beta 1 in August 1999. The release listed new maps, characters and weapons, plus updated versions of classic content such as de_dust. It also named new gameplay modes, matchmaking and leaderboards.

Valve said the game was developed with Seattle-based Hidden Path Entertainment. It was playable that week in the Sony and Microsoft booths at E3 in Los Angeles.

Fans reacted to the price. In this site’s forum thread from that day, commenters said they had expected something higher, with some naming $30. Others asked what would happen to beta keys and whether the PS3 version would support mouse and keyboard.

June 12: what Valve said next

Valve followed up on June 12 in its June 11th Update post. The studio wrote that it had been busy at E3 “announcing a launch date –August 21st – and a price – $14.99,” and that both would apply to all platforms.

Valve listed what it planned over the next few weeks: a major audio update, play with friends, new characters and more beta keys. It also addressed the two questions it said it saw most often about access.

• Pre-ordersValve hoped to open them about a month before release, “roughly July 21st,” and called that a rough date it would firm up later.
• Open betait would come “sometime between the pre-orders and release.”

Aug. 7: pre-purchase begins

Pre-purchase opened on Aug. 7, later than that rough July target. Valve listed three terms:

• Players who pre-purchased received a 10% discount.
• All pre-purchasers gained access to the beta on Aug. 14.
• The beta would continue for current testers and pre-order players until release on Aug. 21.

Valve wrote that CS:GO had “come a long way” since the beta began in December, thanks to feedback from participants. It said the best way to keep updating Counter-Strike was to iterate on a live product that could be experienced by the widest range of players.

The post carried change notes for an update due before Aug. 14. Its headings covered weapons, gameplay, animations and models, UI, maps, audio and general bug fixes.

Aug. 14: the beta opens to pre-purchasers

On Aug. 14, Valve released an update to the beta in the afternoon. It then wrote that everyone who had pre-purchased the game “should now have access.” Valve asked players to play as much as they could before launch and to post their thoughts in the forums.

Aug. 21: launch day

Valve’s launch post, titled “Go! Go! Go!,” began with a single line: “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive launches today.” The studio called the launch an important milestone in development. It said its work could now continue with feedback from the entire Counter-Strike community, and it described CS:GO as “still evolving.”

Valve thanked the beta testers, who it said had spent “countless hours” covering the maps, testing recoil, tweaking movement and weighing the strategic impact of updates. The post included a chart showing how extensively they had tested the game.

The Steam store announcement the same day described the game in feature terms. It listed an arsenal of over 45 weapons, “loads of maps,” new game modes, new visuals, leaderboards and over 165 Steam Achievements.

What came next

Valve’s launch post pointed to the scene already forming around the game. It said the community had spent the past months independently establishing competitive leagues and additional content.

It named a Zombie mod as one of several popular mods in development. The Map Workshop was still to come, and Valve said it would let map makers share their ideas quickly with the community.

For new players, Valve suggested joining one of the leagues or tournaments appearing, such as Go4CSGO, and it asked organizers to get in touch so it could spread the word. Professional teams, Valve added, were “already geared up” for the upcoming ESWC qualifiers and for DreamHack.