Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

A free version of Valve's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is now available on Steam.

Valve has stepped up its anti-cheat measures and issued almost 95,000 bans in the last week alone.

A new CS:GO update has blocked players in the Netherlands and Belgium from opening containers - the game's version of loot boxes.

Valve's change comes after both Dutch and Belgian authorities declared some in-game loot boxes were gambling and warned publishers to remove them from games or face the consequences.

In April, the Netherlands' gaming authority looked at the loot boxes in 10 games and found four contravened its Betting and Gaming Act. It did not publicly name the games in question.

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It seems the Netherlands' threat to prosecute video game companies over loot boxes has claimed its first victim: Valve.

Hot on the heels of the Netherlands declaring loot boxes are gambling and therefore illegal, Belgium has had its say.

I have no idea how dunking a bunch of 20-somethings in a hole in a frozen lake helps pro esports organisation Fnatic find a new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive academy team, nor how watching a largely unfit group tackle a kind of special ops obstacle course helps their cause, but it's cringingly fun to watch. And that, I suppose, is what Season 2 of CSGO reality show Gamerz is all about.

Counter-strike: Global Offensive has a new matchmaking system which takes into account your behaviour across Steam - not just in CS:GO.

Valve has updated Dust 2, probably the most popular and iconic Counter-Strike map.

In a post on the Counter-Strike website, Valve said it had improved "player readability" throughout the map, refined movement around the world including cover, and, crucially, upgraded the visuals to be in-line with modern maps. But it stressed it has not redesigned the map, considered one of the most balanced in CS:GO.

To give you an idea of the work Valve has done, at Bombsite B a number of overly dark spots in Tunnels now have natural light pouring in via a crumbling, torn away roof. The broken down car at the bomb site has been moved a bit to allow more free player flow, and the break in the wall has now been widened. Scaffold has been simplified (metal pipes should no longer get in your way) and a few electrical poles have been moved outside the playspace.

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YouTubers Trevor "TmarTn" Martin and Thomas "Syndicate" Cassell have dodged a fine for their promotion of a gambling site, which they secretly owned.

BBC Three has announced it will bring viewers four hours of live esports coverage every weekend for the next six weeks, in collaboration with BBC Sport.

The Gambling Commission has warned parents about gambling websites, calling them "parasites feeding off popular video games".

In the battle against Counter-Strike cheaters, Valve has enlisted the help of an unusual source: AI.

Happy New Year! Valve has revealed the top 100 best selling games on Steam in 2016. And given the size and dominance of Steam in the desktop gaming marketplace, the results are worth noting.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive now has a cool-looking changing weather system thanks to a couple of modders.

Earlier this month the Washington State Gambling Commission set its sights on Valve, accusing the Steam developer of facilitating gambling as a number of illegal sites use Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skins as a form of currency for gambling. Since some skins are very rare, they get assigned high values of real-world currency, making them convenient for gambling sites to use as chips, so to speak. Valve has retaliated against these accusations, claiming that it's been compliant with the law and has previously collaborated with the Gambling Commission to crack down on sites using Steam services for nefarious means.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's new graffiti consumables have angered some long-time fans of the game.

The Washington State Gambling Commission has set its sights on Valve over the proliferation of third-party sites using Steam's skin-trading system as a method of facilitating gambling.

There will be some bamboozling pro Counter-Strike: Global Offensive action at EGX in Birmingham next month as Gfinity flies-in four of the best teams in the world to compete for $100,000.

CS:GO Lounge, one of the world's biggest Counter-Strike skins gambling websites, has closed its virtual items betting functions.

The UK Gambling Commission is taking a renewed interest in esports betting, following the recent controversy surrounding sites such as CS:GO Lotto.

One of the largest and high profile Counter-Strike gambling sites is seeking to stay online despite Valve's round of cease-and-desist letters.

A German TV channel has pulled its esports coverage in the wake of last week's shooting in Munich.

Twitch has banned one of its biggest streamers as the crackdown on Counter-Strike gambling websites continues.

A fortnight ago, YouTube stars Trevor "Tmartn" Martin and Tom "Syndicate" Cassell were discovered as the owners of gambling site CS:GO Lotto.

Yesterday, Valve clarified its rules on sites that use Steam to run gambling businesses.

Valve has promised to crack down on users who offer in-game goods as prizes for gambling sites.

We've heard a lot this week about how Counter-Strike gambling sites can rig their bets for high profile YouTubers.

UPDATE 2.15pm: Shamed YouTube star Trevor "TmarTn" Martin has not responded to requests for comment on the matter of his gambling site promotion and ownership, but he has appointed a legal team to respond on his behalf.

Yesterday, many were shocked to hear how two YouTube stars had promoted an online gambling site without disclosing the fact they were its owners.

UPDATE 7/7/16 10.00pm: Exposed YouTube star TmarTn has issued a brief apology video as part of an unsuccessful attempt to calm the furore.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is not giftable during the ongoing Steam sale, Valve has confirmed.

Counter-Strike eSports continues its impressive growth in popularity - and Valve is pumping more money into prize pools as a result.

Players have been using hacks to cheat at first-person shooters for years. Now, the tables have turned.

In July 2015, Valve promised to strike hard at Counter-Strike: Global Offensive community servers it deemed were in breach of its guidelines. Now, it's made good on that promise.

Will Blizzard's virtual collectible card game Hearthstone be a part of the Winter Olympics 2030?

The Electronic Sports League will randomly test professional players for cannabis, among other banned substances, during its next tournament as part of its new anti-doping effort.

ESL, the world's largest eSports events company, begins randomised testing for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) next month.

Earlier this month a professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player claimed he and his teammates had used the performance-enhancing drug adderall during a recent ESL tournament.

After nearly three years on the market Valve will be tweaking an important component of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive by altering its hitboxes.

The Counter-Strike eSports scene has suffered a number of high-profile scandals in recent months, but it's safe to say it's booming.

While eSports is big business in North America and East Asia, where thousands pack out stadiums to watch professional gamers compete at live events, in the UK it's fair to say eSports has yet to take off in a live setting at least.

In its ongoing bid to clean up the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive eSports community, developer Valve has told all involved with its events to avoid gambling on matches.

Valve has come down hard on professional Counter-Strike players who were caught match-fixing.

If you felt like Fullbright's coming-of-age drama Gone Home was missing something, and that something is guns, then you're in luck! Steam modder Nipper has faithfully recreated that game's setting, the Greenbriar estate, as a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map.

Popular YouTube channel The Creatures has become the latest victim of swatting - the act of hoax-calling police to swoop in on unsuspecting innocent targets.

Valve boss Gabe Newell has concluded his Reddit AMA (conducted to support the fundraising effort Valve is doing for the Seattle Children's Hospital), and in the process has offered a few snippets of information on what the company is up to.

Gabe Newell has taken the unusual step of addressing concern over VAC - Valve's anti-cheat system.

Valve is handing ban-power to the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive community so it can regulate itself. This self-police force will be known as Overwatch.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive developer Valve has announced Operation Payback - a collection of seven top-rated community maps now available on official servers.

An Operation Payback pass costs $2.99 (down from $5.99 for a limited time). At least some of the money will go back to the maps' creators, although Valve doesn't specify how much.

The pass lets you bring friends into matches on Payback maps, which are hosted on low-ping official servers. You'll also get an exclusive challenge coin.

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Valve's Santa Claus I mean Gabe Newell will be the video game hero awarded a BAFTA Fellowship this year.

Build a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map replicating a public space and you may get in trouble.

Such is his influence on the world of videogames and computing that it's a wonder Gabe Newell hasn't been inducted into the prestigious Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame already. This coming February at the 2013 D.I.C.E. summit will be his moment.

Do you have multiple PlayStation Network IDs so you can access the PlayStation Store in different countries?

This week's EU PlayStation Store update includes The Walking Dead: Episode Four (Ł3.99) and Doom 3 BFG Edition (Ł29.99).

It's a busy time for Valve, and it's a busy time for Chet Faliszek. Fresh from his work on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (more on its absence from the EU PlayStation Store later), he's now hard at work making Left 4 Dead, the ground-breaking co-op zombie thriller, better. But he still found the time to pop along to Eurogamer Expo last week to deliver a developer session (twice) on how to get a job in the game industry.

Post-apocalyptic Attenborough 'em-up Tokyo Jungle is available to download from the EU PlayStation Store today. It costs just Ł9.99.

This is the fifth week Counter-Strike: Global Offensive hasn't shown up on the PlayStation Store.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has failed to appear on the EU PlayStation Store once again, marking four weeks since it was supposed to launch. Xbox 360 and PC players have been able to play the game since August 21st.

30 frames per second with screen-tear during taxing scenes characterises the PS3 version of this game.

A fairly solid 30FPS on the Microsoft platform.

The Digital Foundry PC is ideally suited to low-demand games like Global Offensive. Even cranked up to 1080p with 4x MSAA, and all other settings completely maxed out, the frame rate rarely drops below 60FPS. Here we see the Lake map in Demolition mode ca

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Xbox 360

PlayStation 3

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Counter-Strike Global Offensive has failed to appear on the EU PlayStation Store for a third week, as Sony continues to remain unable to explain its absence.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has updated the EU PlayStation Store and downloadable shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is still nowhere to be seen.

Despite only having been out for a few days, Valve has already updated Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Steam with a new patch tweaking the mechanics and fixing various bugs.

The full list of changes (as listed by Valve) include:

Gameplay

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UPDATE: Sony has apologised to PS3-owning Counter-Strike fans after CS:GO failed to turn up on the EU PlayStation Store today.

"Freedom is not going to protect itself." If there are any words that more accurately summarise Eurogamer's position on the War On Terror, then I have not made them up yet.

I am what you might call a lapsed Terrorist. Around a decade ago, you could often find me skulking around Italian wine cellars with AK-47s, or cowering behind hostages in a conference room watching for SWAT. I wasn't exactly a brilliant servant to the cause - some of my exploits made the underpants bomber look like a pro, like headshotting one of my team-mates with a grenade while he checked a stairwell - but I was dedicated. No matter how many times I would charge into battle, knife in hand for faster movement, only to be blinded by a flashbang and then slain while hopping wildly into a wall of gunfire, I would always be there the next time around, ready to lay down my life all over again.

(I also played as a Counter-Terrorist half the time, obviously, but my heart was never in it.)

I can't remember why I stopped playing Counter-Strike, but I'm immediately back at home in Global Offensive, Valve and Hidden Path's latest overhaul of Jess Cliffe and Minh Le's original Half-Life modification. The main team-based objective modes see Terrorists trying to plant a bomb while Counter-Terrorists try to wipe them out and/or defuse it, or Counter-Terrorists trying to rescue hostages while Terrorists try to wipe them out. Cash earned from kills or team success allows you to buy better weapons before each round, and these modes take you on a tour of some of the best multiplayer shooter levels ever designed: Dust, Italy, Nuke, Train, Dust 2, Aztec, Office and Inferno. You're also rewarded with superficial awards and MVP points, but beyond that there's no XP-based progression, classes or custom builds, and once you're dead there's no respawning until the next round begins, so life is a bit more valuable than it is in other shooters.

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Earlier today, I was sat at my desk listening to the chorus of early-morning tweets from friends and co-workers, and one stuck out to me. GamesIndustry International editor Matt Martin reflected on his time in Cologne this week with this: "Almost all my interviews at Gamescom this week were about free-to-play. Anything else was just filler."

An hour-long timed trial of the full Counter-Strike: Global Offensive game will be offered exclusively to PlayStation Plus subscribers on PS3.

"This is a special demo and not available in the PlayStation Store," Sony America explained (via Kotaku).

If you're on an American time-zone, the timed trial will be downloaded automatically - via Automatic Download - while you sleep on 20th August. That's the eve of CS: GO's global launch. So, presumably, the trial won't be playable until 21st. But this isn't specified.

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Pre-purchase the Steam version of upcoming competitive multiplayer first-person shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and you'll be able to play it a week early, Valve has announced.

Before you can use Steam, you must agree to Steam's terms. And those terms - the Steam Subscriber Agreement and Valve's Privacy Policy - have been updated.

Valve has also opened a new office in Luxembourg to better serve its European audience with. Nice place, Luxembourg - has a population of half-a-million and a capital city named Luxembourg.

The most significant change to the Steam terms concerns taking Valve to court over a dispute.

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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive launches on 21st August, Valve has announced.

It launches on Steam, PSN and XBLA for approximately $15 on all platforms.

More to follow.

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Valve has launched Steam remote downloads.

The feature, which was in beta, enables Steam users to manage their library of games remotely via the internet. If you leave Steam running on your PC or Mac, you can log into the Steam website or mobile access and download pre-loads, new releases and latest purchases, as soon as they're available. When you're home, your new downloads will be installed and ready to play.

You can do this from the Games list on the Steam Community site, which you can access from a web browser or the Steam mobile app. The Games list will reflect the installation state of your library on that machine. Find your game and hit install to trigger remote download.

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The Valve Handbook for New Employees has hit the internet.

Valve has ditched cross-platform play in upcoming downloadable shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Upcoming Valve games Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will support the Razer Hydra PC motion controller.

If you fill out a Valve survey you may get a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive beta key.

The next set of beta keys will be sent on the basis of this survey, Valve said.

"If you don't fill it out, you won't be getting a key," reads a post on the Counter-Strike blog.

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Valve co-founder and CEO Gabe Newell believes piracy stems not from price, but from convenience. And as Steam boasts fast access to a dizzying selection of games, so piracy has become "basically a non-issue" for Valve.

The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive public beta goes live worldwide to anyone in possession of a key on 30th November, Valve has announced.

Valve said on Twitter "it is important to us to get current players in the beta. That will happen. No ETA on when yet".

The beta is available for the PC only. It begins with two maps: Dust and Dust2, and is designed to be at first a "subset" of the game.

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Valve has delayed the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive beta because of feedback given by professional Counter-Strike 1.6 players.

The closed beta was planned for October, and now has no start date.

Professionals were invited to play the game and offer their thoughts. Valve's Chet Faliszek explained that their early access was granted because they could "talk intelligently about the game", whereas with the masses, constructive feedback can be hard to come by.

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Eurogamer is delighted to announce the 10 nominees for its Game of the Show, Eurogamer Expo 2011.

Arsenal modes blown open.

Valve has announced a brace of new modes for its online shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, with Arsenal: Demolition and Arsenal: Arms Race coming to the popular game.

Both modes are a spin on the popular mod Gun Game, which sees players starting with a basic loadout, which is then upgraded as they chalk up more kills. The two new modes will also introduce eight new maps for the game.

"We are excited that Valve reached out and is working with us to

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It can be difficult to get into a multiplayer shooter that's been out for even a week. Other players will know the layout of the maps, have a keener understanding of the weapons, and a better feel for the controls. Now imagine getting into a game that's been played obsessively for over a decade and it can feel next to impossible. 

From its humble roots as a conduit for Counter-Strike back in 2003 to its current status as a digital delivery juggernaut with over 30 million subscribers, Steam's rise has been little short of remarkable. With an estimated 70 per cent share of the entire PC market, Valve's store has transformed a small developer into one of the games industry's most powerful players.

PlayStation 3 owners will be able to use a keyboard and mouse to play download only online shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

PS3, PC cross-platform play confirmed.

Valve wants the Xbox Live Arcade version of upcoming shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to feature Steamworks integration.

Valve has announced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, due out on PC, Mac (via Steam), PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade early 2012.