Counter-Strike Co-Creator Admits Envy of the Game’s Success: "I Don't Receive Any Benefit From It"

One of the creators of the original Counter-Strike, Minh Le, revealed that it was difficult for him to deal with the massive success of the game after he left the project. According to the developer, it was hard to follow the professional scene because he did not receive any benefit from the game’s continued popularity.

Le shared these thoughts on his YouTube channel while answering a question about why he left Counter-Strike and how he feels about the game’s success 25 years later.

The developer explained that he left the project in 2006 because he wanted more creative freedom. At the time, he did not expect the game to remain popular for so long.

"When I left Counter-Strike, I was proud of what the game had become, but I wanted to explore my creative freedom as a developer, which is why I left CS. I thought the game’s popularity would eventually fade away. I couldn’t think of any other game that people would still be playing 25 years later. So it was crazy to me that I still have to talk about Counter-Strike today," he said.

After leaving the project, Le tried to distance himself from the game completely. He said that whenever people asked him about Counter-Strike’s incredible popularity, he would usually respond briefly.

The developer admitted that he actually had mixed feelings about the situation. On one hand, he was proud of what the game had become. On the other hand, he regretted leaving something that turned out to be so successful.

"In my mind there was a small bit of envy. I’ve never admitted it before, but it was there," Le said.

He compared the feeling to a situation where an ex-girlfriend marries a billionaire and lives a perfect life.

"Imagine your ex-girlfriend marrying Jeff Bezos and living an amazing life. That’s what it felt like. People would constantly say, 'Dude, look at Counter-Strike. It’s insane.' And I would say, 'Yeah, sure.' I was pretending that I was proud. Honestly, I really was proud of what CS became, but it wasn’t part of me anymore. I don’t receive any benefit from the game’s success. That’s why it was hard for me to genuinely feel excited about it."

According to Le, those emotions even prevented him from following the professional Counter-Strike scene for many years.

He admitted that he missed several important eras of competitive CS, including the early dominance of teams like Ninjas in Pyjamas and Fnatic, as well as the legendary era of Astralis.

"I basically shut myself off from Counter-Strike because it was emotionally difficult for me," he said.

Over time, however, his attitude toward the game changed. Le explained that after interacting more with the community, he realized that fans still remembered his role in creating the game.

He was especially surprised to learn that many famous people still play Counter-Strike, including Brazilian football star Neymar.

According to the developer, this helped him let go of his envy and start seeing the game’s success as something he could truly be proud of.

Counter-Strike Creator Gets His Own Meme Coin — $GOOSE Reaches $477K Market Cap

The video where Le shared these thoughts was also connected to another story. It discussed the launch of the memecoin $GOOSE, which appeared on March 3. Some followers criticized Le for promoting the coin, after which the developer said he decided to buy back all the tokens himself so that fans would not lose their money.