"I never really expected it to last this long," Minh Le tells me over video chat. "It" is Counter-Strike, a mod Le helped create alongside Jess Cliffe in the late 1990's. Since the two-man team and its creation was acquired by Valve in 2000, Counter-Strike has continued to expand, with new, standalone versions landing on almost every major video game platform.
Le, known in the mod community as 'Gooseman,' is still surprised by its popularity.
"I started back in 1999, and back then it was just this mod," Le tells me. "It really, really shocks me. Part of the reason I think it has evolved, even to this day and maintained its strength is because of community involvement."
Le hasn't kept track of updates to Counter-Strike - or its subsequent sequels - since his final days at Valve, as he's now busy working on a new project inspired by lessons he learned and goals he wanted to accomplish with the original mod. A new, free-to-play shooter dubbed Tactical Intervention. Counter-Strike, though made popular by its classic bomb mode and no-respawn deathmatch style, was meant to be remembered for other modes that fans never quite gravitated to, like VIP and Hostage missions. With enhancements to make those modes better than he was able to achieve in Counter-Strike, Tactical Intervention is closer to being unleashed.
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