Today marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Counter-Strike. The king of competitive shooters began as a Half-Life mod developed by Ming Lee and Jess Cliff, and beta versions began circulating in June 1999. The co-developers went on to release several more versions, and in 2000 Valve acquired the IP and brought them both in-house; Counter-Strike, dubbed the greatest competitive game of all time, was officially released on November 9, 2000.

The press release issued by Valve's Doug Lombardi at the time reads. "Since its first beta release in the fall of 1999, Counter-Strike has surpassed all commercial and non-commercial titles in its class to become the most played online action game... Counter-Strike 1.0 will be released later tonight and will be available to existing Counter -CS 1.0 includes new weapons, many gameplay fixes, and enhanced maps, models, and animations. Counter-Strike 1.0 is an update for existing CS players and a full mod for existing Half-Life owners, available from various gaming sites.

Counter-Strike came out remarkably complete, even considering its extensive beta period. At launch, the game had two teams of five players playing one of the following game types: bomb disposal, hostage rescue, or assassination: even today, if you load Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, that is the core of the game. This is because the game, which started as a mod, had its own mod community. Over the years that followed, they created maps that became the mainstay of competitive play, invented modes (gun games) that later became official, and created subcultures like the "surf" map.

If there is one thing Counter-Strike players enjoy doing, it is complaining about Counter-Strike and the game's community. This is usually done with a sense of humor, but it is everywhere and must be rooted in basic truths. But we exaggerate it and rarely acknowledge the flip side: the game has remained relevant and competitive for an unprecedented length of time, has grown its audience significantly (CS: GO gained over 20 million unique players on Steam last month), and has a It has a great community dedicated to helping others and a simple love for the game. Also, I'll be frank: I enjoy getting shit on by angry Russians. Sometimes.

Needless to say, we've got you covered: whether it's the biggest Counter-Strike moment of the past decade or the amazingly complex history of chickens in Counter-Strike, Valve celebrated the 20th anniversary of the original mod last year, so it's no surprise that CS: GO is getting a content update today There is speculation that it may get a content update.

So, all you lovers of great video games, raise your glasses, raise your AK's, and raise a toast to the 20th anniversary, my beauties.