Classic Offensive mod blocked by Valve one day before release

Classic Offensive, an ambitious mod that seeks to combine elements of Counter-Strike 1.6 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to create a unique "1999-2004"-esque Counter-Strike expensive has been hit with another roadblock as Valve has blocked the mod from Steam a day before the free game was set to release on the platform.

For those who don't know, the Classic Offensive mod has been in development for 8+ years as a long-time passion project of ZooL and a number of other developers attempting to create a mod that serves as a spiritual successor to the classic Counter-Strike experience. The game combinesmodern features from CS:GO with an experience, mechanics, and gunplay akin to the original game.

The mod has had a difficult road to release, needing to resolve multiple issues over the years that come from adapting CS:GO, working at times with outdated source code, working with Valve's official SDK, and attempting to stay in Valve's good graces as an homage rather than a rival to their popular shooter.

Classic Offensive ran into a significant roadblock in mid-January when the game was suddenly rejected by Steamworks, Valve's official release pipeline, after being submitted all the way back in October 2024. ZooL and co. made it clear they did not understand why it was blocked but that they would continue trying to find a way to release the mod.

After two months, the Classic Offensive team seemingly finally found a way to release the mod, teasing a potential release on March 12th. However, in one final blow the mod's official account today announced that Valve have halted the release of the mod due to unknown compliance issues with the Steam Subscriber Agreement.

This once again leaves the mod in the lurch as they now need to hunt for whatever brought Valve's ire, hoping that Valve will finally let them release the mod after 8+ years of development.

You can find a trailer for the mod below: