Originally planned for October, it looks like the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive closed beta has been delayed. According to an ESEA News interview with Valve's Chet Faliszek, the beta was pushed back after the company received feedback from the Counter-Strike experts who have already tested the game.

Faliszek noted that there are some fundamental issues that need to be resolved before the beta is made available to a wider audience. He didn't offer any updated release date for the beta, though he did reveal that the initial wave of the beta will include 10,000 players and will grow "in steps" as Valve tests "infrastructure and scalability."

Eventually, the beta will be made available to everyone. Faliszek added that there will be no set end date for the beta, saying "we have no mandate from anybody of when we have to ship this." Essentially, he said, the final version of the beta will be the game that Valve actually releases to the public. "It will be the release game that you're just playing," he said, "and then at some point we'll say, 'Okay, now we're going to officially release it.'"