Games

Classic Offensive project shut down as Valve issue cease and desist

BBG News

The well-liked community project, Classic Offensive, seems almost extinct due to Valve’s shift in perspective.

The revival of classic features in Counter-Strike, known as the Classic Offensive project, was halted after Valve changed their decision with a reversal of the initial approval they had given eight years prior.

The cancellation and freezing of the project has sparked intense activity in the community, with the hashtag “#UnfreezeClassicProject” gaining popularity as supporters rally behind the developers and call for a response from Valve, expressing their need for clarification.

“Serious concerns” for future of modding community via Valve, Steam

On May 7th, via X/Twitter, the Classic Offensive team released a long statement explaining their unexpected decision to halt the project after nearly a decade of development. The message started with, “We are deeply saddened to announce the termination of Classic Offensive,” and went on to explain that this move was necessitated by “unforeseen actions” taken by Valve, which blocked the game’s release.

The project was approved by Valve on Steam in 2017 following its rapidly increasing popularity as a mod. The developers of Classic Offensive were given access to Steamworks, which facilitated development. Despite occasional CS:GO updates causing issues, they persisted with the goal of launching the game on Steam.

By October 2024, this project had been primarily finished and then sent to Steam for evaluation. However, as per the developers of Classic Offensive, the submission was turned down approximately three months later with a standard message explaining that it didn’t align well with their platform.

In an uncertain state regarding Greenlight approval, developers chose to release updates through ModDB, a third-party community platform, as Valve unexpectedly issued a Cease and Desist order via their social media channels mere hours before launch. Subsequently, the Classic Offensive team explained that releasing their game, Classic Offensive, would be considered distribution of ‘derivative content’ based on Valve’s intellectual property, according to subsequent communications from Valve.

Consequently, the ongoing project of Classic Offensive has been temporarily paused, and its future, along with that of all community-created Source mods, as stated by the team, appears uncertain.

As a devoted fan, I find myself pondering over the potential ripples of our current predicament. It’s becoming increasingly clear that this extends way beyond our project, stirring up significant apprehensions about the future of modding within Valve’s universe. I can’t help but question the role Valve plays in all of this: A company that thrives on community ingenuity, yet possesses the power to abruptly halt years of dedicated work without a moment’s notice, even though they claim to adhere to a defined process which they can alter at their discretion.

“Another Valve L”: CS2 community rallies as Classic Offensive project put on indefinite hold

A significant number of people from the local community expressed their backing for Classic Offensive, as the hashtag #LetClassicOffensivePlay gained popularity on various social networking sites.

Notable figures have expressed support for the Classic Offensive team, one of whom is Minh “Gooseman” Le, a founding co-creator of Counter-Strike (originally a mod for Half-Life). He voiced his discontent as their efforts were being kept hidden. In his own words, “I find it hard to imagine years of work not getting public recognition.” He expressed hope that their skills will be showcased in future projects because he was genuinely impressed by their accomplishments.

Multiple professional gamers and content makers, after testing and demonstrating Classic Offensive, expressed equal disappointment. WarOwl, a creator himself, stated, “Valve certainly has the authority to safeguard their intellectual property, but they could also opt to support fan projects as they have in the past.

On their website, The Classic Offensive team publicly posted a comprehensive timeline detailing the progress of the project along with their interactions with Valve.

When we contacted Valve, they did not respond at the time this report was written; we will update this space if any response is forthcoming.

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2025-05-08 10:51

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