Classic Offensive devs ‘auditing’ build after Valve message

Classic Offensive, the CS:GO mod that was set for release today, has hit yet another massive snag on the road to release. After having its Steam app retired by Valve in January, it seems the bumpy ride isn’t set to end yet.

Classic Offensive ‘may no longer be compliant’ with Valve guidelines

With Classic Offensive on the verge of release, the mod’s developer has claimed that Valve has contacted them. In a statement posted on X, they said “They have reached out to us with concerns that our mod may no longer be compliant with their guidelines and the Steam Subscriber Agreement.” As a result, Classic Offensive is now “auditing the current build of the mod to ensure nothing in it is in violation of those guidelines.”

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— Classic Offensive (@csco_dev) March 12, 2025

What that actually means in terms of a release delay, I’m not quite sure. It doesn’t seem as though this kind of audit would be a quick process, so I certainly wouldn’t expect to be playing it today. It’s a shame, because it looked like a great blast from the past, so hopefully the developers can find a way to meet Valve’s guidelines. Given that the mod now well and truly has the attention of the studio, it certainly won’t be releasing without its approval.

As for the reason for the rumored non-compliance, Classic Offensive has left fans in the dark. It’s not clear why the mod is in violation of Valve’s guidelines for a mod like this to release, and it’s not something we’ll likely be privy to, either.

What is Classic Offensive?

If you’ve somehow managed to miss it, Classic Offensive is a CS:GO mod “with the goal of bringing back the community aspects and aesthetics of CS.” Remember CS 1.6? Remember how clean it was? It’s that, brought into the CS:GO engine. Videos of the mod look great so far, offering a nostalgic trip back to the early 2000s.

As you can see from *everything* above, things haven’t exactly gone smoothly for the Classic Offensive team. There’s still hope that we’ll be living the glory years of CS 1.6 in Classic Offensive soon enough, but it’ll require just a bit more patience than initially expected.