Valve shuts down Classic Offensive - fan remake of Counter-Strike 1.6 will not see the light of day after 8 years of development
Eight years of work, an official Greenlight from Valve, and thousands of fans waiting for it - none of this saved Classic Offensive, a fan remake of the original Counter-Strike on the CS:GO engine. The project was finally cancelled after Valve decided that the mod violated its intellectual property.
Here's What We Know
Classic Offensive was supposed to be a real gift for old-school Counter-Strike fans: the developers recreated classic maps, weapons, HUDs, and even old physics to bring back the spirit of the legendary 1.6 in a modern form. The project received the green light from Valve back in 2017, the team had access to Steamworks, and the release was scheduled for March 2025.
However, on the eve of the launch, Valve abruptly changed its position: first, in January 2025, the mod was unexpectedly rejected on Steam with the wording "does not fit", and in March, the developers received an official letter demanding to stop any distribution. The reason was that Classic Offensive was recognised as "derivative content" that violates Valve's intellectual property rights.
The Classic Offensive team emphasised in their appeal that Valve's new policy threatens the entire modding culture that has been the basis of the company's games' success for decades. The decision caused a wave of outrage among the community: the hashtag #AllowClassicOffensive instantly gained popularity, and gamers demanded explanations and support for the creators of fan projects.
https://t.co/d0RMvuK9jo #AllowClassicOffensive pic.twitter.com/Qz3bHg1a9E
- Classic Offensive (@csco_dev) 7 May 2025
Source: @csco_dev
