By Dexerto | Created at 2025-03-17 13:39:19 | Updated at 2025-03-18 00:12:11
10 hours ago
Counter-Strike 1.6 is getting a fully remastered standalone version on Steam, bringing back one of the most iconic FPS games in history.
Despite CS2’s success, which set a new all-time peak player count record on Steam of over 1.8 million on March 16, veteran players continue to cherish nostalgic titles in the franchise. The original Counter-Strike and CS: Source are each still averaging over 10K players in 2025.
Many in the community have long called out for remastered versions, and now fans’ calls have finally been answered after over 25 years with the upcoming release of CS: Legacy.
CS: Legacy announced as new CS 1.6 remake on Steam
The CS 1.6 remake isn’t being created by Valve, but by the iconic ProMod developers, known for their work on popular CS mods in previous titles that helped shape the competitive scene.
On March 16, the announcement was made via a YouTube trailer revealing the standalone title, CS: Legacy. In the accompanying statement, they said:
“CS: Legacy is a fully standalone remake of Counter-Strike 1.6, built from the ground up with 100% custom game code and game assets. After the exciting Global Offensive transition to CS2, we wanted to bring Classic Counter-Strike back to life more than ever to keep the Classic CS Legacy alive.
Not as a mod, but as a full game. The game is built on Valve’s official 2013 Source Engine SDK codebase, with our own major rewrites to the renderer, shaders and various systems.”
The trailer offers a first look at CS: Legacy, featuring updated versions of classic 1.6 maps like Nuke and Pool Day, along with a Deagle kill and some iconic bunny hop movement mechanics.
“This is looking crazy good,” echoed the comments of many as several fans praised them.
“Jesus christ, you guys kicked the ball out of the park wtf, you could have warned us,” one said, as another replied, “I’m sinking 10,000 hours in this game instantly! I don’t care! Absolute cinema.”
The CS ProMod developers have announced that Legacy will be available on Steam in Early Access in 2025, though the official release date has yet to be revealed.
This comes just a week after Cache officially returned to CS2, receiving a complete overhaul from legendary map maker FMPONE. Despite initially mocking its return, Shroud later checked out the map and stated it “needs some work for sure.”
