It was 20 years ago today that version 1.0 of Counter-Strike launched, boasting iconic maps like Dust and Italy. But what about the maps that didn’t make it out of beta? CS had over twenty which bounced around betas but were cut by the full release, including all the maps representing one entire mode. I revisited the cut beta maps today and was surprised by quite how many I remembered, a lot of weird fond memories mixed in with a few moments of “Oh yeah obviously I see why this was cut”. Come, let’s revisit them.

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On the 9th of November, 2000, Valve released version 1.0 of Counter-Strike. The tactical shooter had started as a Half-Life mod in beta the year before, originally created by Minh “Gooseman” Le and Jess Cliffe, and became the star of the scene. It’s weird to say now, but a twitchy teamplay FPS with a grounded paramilitary setting and realistic style really did stand out. V1.0 wasn’t the end for CS though, as Valve kept expanding and updating it for years, and used it as the testbed for new tech including Steam. It set the model for ‘live service’ games as we now know them.

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While next year’s Awesome Games Done Quick won’t be held in-person, the charity speedrunning event is still going ahead, and it looks like it has some brilliant runs in store. AGDQ 2021’s game list was revealed over the weekend, and oooh January can’t come soon enough. From the new mythological roguelike Hades and charmingly difficult platformer Celeste, to old favourites like Half-Life and Left 4 Dead 2; there are some absolute belters in the lineup.

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Do you suppose Gabe Newell himself has earned the Half-Life 2: Episode 2 achievement for carrying a garden gnome to the end of the game? He’s planning to snag a real-life achievement, apparently, and has partnered up with Rocket Lab to blast a real Gnome Chompski into space. Not for nothing, Newell is planning to donate to Starship Children’s Hospital based on the number of folks to tune in to watch the launch.

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Dota 2

‘s spooky seasonal event Diretide has been absent for quite a few years, a fact that the trailer for this year does not gloss over. You may have thought that the haunted forest would stay dormant forever but oh no, tricks and treats are back for 2020. This year’s event brings back a taffy-collecting game mode and a whole barrel full of rewards. You’ll have plenty of time to jump in because it’s on now and running for nearly two months.

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Eight years after its last major content update, Left 4 Dead 2 has mutated all sorts of newness with The Last Stand. Made by fans but released officially by Valve, the huge free update has added a new mini-campaign based on the first game’s lighthouse Survival mode map, dozens of new maps for Survival and Scavenge modes, new weapons, and loads of wee tweaks and touches. With Valve saying as recently as this year that they’re not making L4D3, The Last Stand may be the co-op shooter’s last stand for quite some time.

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If you’re aching for some new things to do in Left 4 Dead 2, then I have some wonderful news. The game’s first official content update in eight years drops on September 24th bringing with it The Last Stand, a campaign based on the first game’s lighthouse Survival mode map.

Now, that would be pretty cool in itself, but this update is adding not one, but 20 new Survival arenas, four Scavenge arenas, 30 new achievements, loads of previously-unused voice lines, new melee weapons, animations and hundreds of bug fixes to top it all off.

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The war between cheaters and anti-cheat technology might be endless, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with it. I’m delighted to learn about the work of “ScriptKid”, a fella who releases fake cheats that actually sabotage games for would-be cheaters. Wrong’uns go to Google looking for free cheats, find the fake cheat site he’s set up, download and run his fake cheats, then… find they’re forced to jump off buildings to their death in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, or their movement keys screw up, or their gun stops working, or worse. He uploads videos of would-be cheaters getting pranked, and it’s quite cathartic to watch.

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The coronavirus pandemic has shut down yet another gaming event. This time it’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive‘s Rio Major, and Valve say they won’t be scheduling any more of the tournaments until LAN events are safe to hold around the world again.

Valve have also addressed coaches being able to cheat in competitive games for years using a bug, detailing the action they’ll be taking against these cheaty cheaters.

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Coaches eh? They’re meant to be a great help for improving your game, but it seems some sneaky Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams have taken that to mean peeking where they’re not allowed during high-stakes competitive games. Now, the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) is raking through years of demos to find these meddlesome cameramen, with the suggestion that they might go easy on folks who own up to their crimes.

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