The maker of one of Counter-Strike's most iconic maps says he regrets selling it to Valve

09.02.2024 - 17:31 / gamesradar.com / AnneMarie Ostler / Says He

The creator of one of Counter-Strike's most popular maps has a serious case of seller's remorse.

It's been 11 years since Valve acquired Mirage from Michael Hüll, and to mark the occasion, the developer has posted a tweet saying that had he known what the future held for the series, he would have done things differently.

"Today is exactly 11 years since I sold Mirage to Valve," Hüll says in a tweet posted yesterday, February 8. "Had I known then how big CS:GO and now CS2 would be, I would never have sold it."

Today is exactly 11 years since I sold Mirage to @valvesoftware. Had I known then how big CS:GO and now CS2 would be I would never have sold it, they made a very good deal, but they also made changes I don't like today. But thank you Mirage.#gamedev#leveldesign@CounterStrikeFebruary 8, 2024

The developer says that Valve "made a very good deal," though it's not the money that makes him wish he'd held onto his creation. "I work, so money is not a problem, honor and pride is worth more," he explains in a separate tweet. "But they've made changes that I can't really agree with."

Mirage has indeed undergone various reworkings over the years aimed at improving its quality and making it more balanced, though Hüll argues that these fly in the face of how the map was "originally intended" to be played. "If you test the 1.6 version, it is clearly noticeable on the A site and in the middle," he says of the changes. 

Still, while he may not be thrilled about the modern iterations of Mirage, Hüll is to this day incredibly proud of the map - as he should be - and thrilled that it's beloved by so many. "There are so many people who appreciate it, which makes me extremely happy," he says. 

Counter-Strike 2 officially replaced CS:GO back in September last year, and despite missing many of its predecessor's quality-of-life features at launch, it still proved so popular that Valve had to boost the shooter's server capacity in the first patch so more people could play. Amazingly, though, its concurrent player record of 1,818,773 (set by CS: GO earlier in 2023) was recently beaten by the unassuming 'Pokemon with Guns' offering Palworld.

For more great FPS games, check out our pick of the best shooters .