Valve has issued a cease and desist order to the development team behind the popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive mod, Classic Offensive—despite having initially approved the project eight years ago. The move has sent shockwaves through the modding community and raised questions about Valve's relationship with fan-driven content.
In a detailed statement published on their official X (formerly Twitter) account, the Classic Offensive team expressed their frustration, urging other mod creators to reconsider their perception of Valve as a company that "benefits from community creativity" while having the power to "shut down years of work without warning." The team also criticized Valve for changing its stance on the project without prior notice or explanation.
Classic Offensive, which sought to bring the nostalgic feel of Counter-Strike 1.6 to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, received Valve's approval back in 2017, following a lengthy application process. The project was given the green light and allowed to proceed under Valve’s Steam Workshop guidelines, with the promise of support and guidance from the company.
However, despite several years of collaboration and little communication from Valve, things took a sharp turn in January 2025, when the Classic Offensive app was suddenly rejected by Valve with little more than a cryptic explanation: "we found that your app is not a good fit for Steam."
After receiving this rejection, the Classic Offensive team reached out to Valve for clarification, but were met with silence. With no clear answer, the team prepared to release a major update through ModDB, an external platform for mods, only to be blindsided by Valve’s cease and desist order just hours before the scheduled launch.
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"As we prepared to update via ModDB instead," the statement reads, "we received a cease and desist notification from Valve's socials just hours before launch." Valve clarified that releasing the mod would constitute "derivative content" based on their intellectual property, which violates the Steam Subscriber Agreement.
The decision has sparked outrage within the gaming and modding communities, with many questioning Valve’s commitment to fostering fan-driven projects. Despite the mod team's adherence to Valve’s processes and guidelines, the sudden rejection and legal action has left them at a standstill.
At this time, it remains unclear why Valve reversed its stance on the mod, as the company has not provided a public explanation beyond the claim that the project was "not a good fit for Steam." This move has left the Classic Offensive team disheartened, having spent years developing the mod in good faith, only for it to be shut down at the last minute.
The Classic Offensive mod, which garnered a strong following due to its retro-inspired gameplay and nostalgic appeal, may now face an uncertain future. The modding community, which has long thrived on collaboration with developers like Valve, is left wondering if similar projects could be at risk of facing similar fates in the future.
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