Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) was officially released on August 21, 2012, by Valve Corporation and Hidden Path Entertainment. The game was initially launched simultaneously for Windows, macOS, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

Before its official release, CS:GO went through a closed beta testing phase that began in November 2011. Selected members of the gaming community, including professional Counter-Strike players, were invited to participate and provide feedback on the game's development.

The journey to CS:GO's release actually started in 2010 when Valve approached Hidden Path Entertainment to help create a port of Counter-Strike: Source for consoles. However, this project eventually evolved into developing a completely new game in the Counter-Strike series.

What's particularly interesting is that CS:GO wasn't just a simple update to previous Counter-Strike versions. It introduced several new features at launch, including:

New maps
New game modes
Updated versions of classic maps
New weapons and equipment
Improved graphics and animations

Since its 2012 release, CS:GO has received numerous updates and improvements. One of the most significant changes came in December 2018 when Valve made the game free-to-play and introduced the Danger Zone battle royale mode.

The game continues to be actively supported and maintained by Valve, making it one of the longest-running and most successful competitive first-person shooters in gaming history. As of 2023, CS:GO remains one of the most popular games on Steam, regularly attracting millions of players each month.

It's worth noting that in March 2023, Valve released Counter-Strike 2, which serves as the successor to CS:GO, built on the Source 2 engine. However, this doesn't diminish the significance of CS:GO's original 2012 release date, which marked the beginning of a new era in competitive gaming.

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