CS:Legacy put on hold after contact from Valve. Developers shift work to their own IP in Godot and reveal plans for 2026

The developers of CS:Legacy say the project has been temporarily frozen after receiving a message from Valve that cast doubt on the possibility of releasing the mod on Source 2013. Over the past few months, the team has moved part of its work to a prototype of its own FPS game being developed in Godot. In 2026, they plan to make one more attempt to reopen dialogue with Valve — and if that fails, they will fully commit to their original IP.

https://x.com/CSLegacyGame/status/2006850307150528559

“We’re still here” — the CS:Legacy developers speak out

The team behind CS:Legacy has published a detailed summary of the project’s current situation and its plans for 2026. The most important message for the community is this: the project and the team still exist and are actively working, but development of CS:Legacy is currently on hold.

As the developers explain, over the last few months part of the work has been shifted to a prototype of their own game (an original IP) being built in Godot Engine. The reason was contact from Valve which, according to the team, “complicated” the possibility of releasing CS:Legacy.

What was the planned release of CS:Legacy supposed to look like?

In March 2025, alongside the release of the announcement trailer, the developers planned for CS:Legacy to launch on Steam as a free full-conversion mod for Source 2013, in early access near the end of 2025, and then continue to be expanded with further updates and content.

The project was meant to be a spiritual successor to the vision known from CSPromod:

• preserving the “classic” Counter-Strike feel in a modern form,
• placing strong emphasis on mechanics and satisfying gunplay,
• and allowing new players to discover “old CS” in a fresh format.

The developers emphasize that they had been quietly working on CS:Legacy for several years in their spare time — out of passion for the original and inspired by their experience from the CSPromod era.

Contact with Valve and no response

A key part of the statement is the issue of communication with Valve. The team says that after receiving a message that affected the possibility of releasing the project, they repeatedly tried to get clarification on the conditions and find a solution — but despite multiple attempts to reach out, they received no response.

According to the developers, the lack of response applied both to the original sender and to the legal department and other suggested contacts.

Thanks to the community

The statement also includes thanks to people who tried to help clarify the situation — including @GabeFollower, as well as Mark Mocherad, who is working on @POLYSTRIKE, and everyone else who reached out and offered support.

What’s next for CS:Legacy?

As of now, the developers have decided to freeze work on CS:Legacy, explaining it simply: they do not want to keep investing time and energy into a project that may never see the light of day in its planned form.

At the same time, they stress that:

• they will make one more attempt to resume communication with Valve,
• if they manage to find a solution that allows the release, they will resume production,
• and after release, they want to let the community begin contributing content as quickly as possible.

The developers emphasize that they have great respect for Valve and state that they will respect the company’s decision.

A new direction: an original IP on Godot Engine

At the same time, the team announces that it is now fully working on a prototype of its own FPS game in Godot Engine. The engine is said to be a good fit for their needs: it is lightweight and allows them to build systems “their own way,” but at the same time — as they note — it is more barebones than Unreal or Unity, which means more work on the team’s side.

What is already working in the prototype?

The developers list a set of elements they have managed to build over the past few months, including:

• Fully functional GUI: main menu, settings, map/team/character selection, loading screens, HUD, and more.
• Quake-style movement: footsteps, smooth stair handling, and linked first-person weapon motion.
• Weapon system: animations and sounds, hitscan weapons and projectile weapons.
• Game mode logic: FFA and team-based, both round-based and non-round-based.
• Basic bots.
• Entities for level designers: spawns, doors, and cameras for loading levels.
• Developer tools: an asset browser in Godot, automatic material importing, and Blender add-ons.
• A sandbox test level called “Castle/Mansion,” where they are testing scale, weapons, modes, and eventually the target art style.

The team adds that it will soon be ready to show the prototype in action, but wants to avoid mixing the message — which is why, before the next presentation, it plans to make one more attempt to contact Valve regarding CS:Legacy.

“Community and great movement” remain top priorities

The statement also returns to the core pillars the developers wanted to revive through CS:Legacy: community and a tight, satisfying FPS with strong movement mechanics. They stress that these values remain unchanged — regardless of whether they ultimately manage to deliver CS:Legacy or the entire effort shifts to an original IP.

To close: well wishes and a sneak peek

The developers thanked the community for its support and shared New Year wishes: “May 2026 be a great year — let’s make it one together.” The post also included several screenshots from the test level, with a clear note that these are early-phase greybox shots and do not represent final quality.

Your opinion

What do you think about this turn of events? Would you rather see the team keep fighting to release CS:Legacy, or would it be better for them to fully focus on their original FPS? Let us know in the comments.