Which 2000 game was the first title in Valve’s Counter-Strike series?

Counter-Strike was the first title in Valve’s Counter-Strike series, released commercially in 2000.

Minh “Gooseman” Le and Jess “Cliffe” Cliffe created Counter-Strike as a modification for Valve’s Half-Life. The first beta appeared in 1999, and Valve later acquired the rights and hired the developers. The commercial version was released in November 2000 as part of the Half-Life ecosystem.

Counter-Strike organized players into terrorist and counter-terrorist teams. Rounds included objectives such as planting or defusing a bomb and rescuing hostages. Players bought weapons and equipment between rounds, making survival and team coordination as important as reflexes.

The original game is often confused with Counter-Strike: Source, which used Valve’s Source engine and arrived in 2004, or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, released in 2012. Its competitive round structure became a foundation for later esports and online tactical shooters.