One of the star players in the VeryGames line-up and the Cadred Awards CS:S player of the year Nathan "NBK" Schmitt has gone public about his feelings surrounding the uncertainty over the future of Counter-Strike.

Recently it was announced that CS:S would not feature at ESWC, one of the first major tournaments to give it a second chance since 2005, and 1.6 has been dropped from a series of tournaments it could usually rely upon to receive top billing.

This has been largely down to the continuing rise in popularity in titles such as League of Legends and Starcraft 2 as well as there being no new and comprehensive Counter-Strike title to get behind.

However, in a public statement released on his Facebook, Nathan has addressed other issues and has called for the Counter-Strike communities to unite or see the format fade into obscurity.

His long diatribe is republished here in full:

Hey everyone !

Given the recent ESWC announcement, in which it has been announced that both CS and CS:S have been removed from the list of competitive titles and replaced by the new CS:GO, and the relative quiescence regarding this decision coming from the professional gaming scene, I believe it is time to speak up about it and form a new competitive movement; a new unity between the old competitive scenes of CS and CSS.

I would like to begin by putting the state of both CS and CSS in the right perspective compared to the current competitive environment within e-Sports: StarCraft II and League of Legends are currently on the pedestal in nearly every single league, cup or tournament in the world, while both CS and CSS have essentially been abandoned. To the all the optimists, who believe that both CS titles are still functioning and will manage to 'survive', I have the following to say: From my personal point of view, which I can assure you is completely unbiased and uninfluenced by sponsors, managers and so forth, both games have been dropped for a very good reason – BOTH GAMES ARE DEAD.

CS:S is left with EMS, the Copenhagen Games and the i-Series (the 46th edition being most likely the last to feature the title), and has only once been featured in the ESWC; even that I attribute to luck. Meanwhile, CS has been withdrawn from the IEM, the ESWC, and the WCG has entirely dropped its support of desktop gaming. There are no more major events featuring any of the two titles.
Starcraft II on the other hand is featured in the IEM, the recent and wonderful NASL and the GSL, that is just to name a few of the best – this title is in the center of all attention. The best title to compare SCII with would be it's team-based equivalent that is League of Legends, which too is featured in the IEM, the MLG and all those 'crazy-money' competitions.

Which brings me to my next point: Why aren't we featured up there? Why are we left out?

None of us can be certain of the reasoning behind this, but I have a suggestion: StarCraft 2 and Leagues of Legend both have MAJOR communities, UNITED, which SUPPORT the game – they support their own titles, and do not spout abuse at other titles that resemble their own. The people follow the competitive scene, they live along with the matches and anxiously await for the games to begin on various streams, they show support and love to their favorite teams and players.

Do not get me wrong, I am by no means saying that this is not the case for both the CS and CS:S scenes, however I do want to point out the fact that the CS titles' community members are outmatched 10 to 1, and as of now here, in the CS/CSS scenes, we do a whole lot more of flaming and angrily dribbling over our keyboards over nothing of real value to any of us.

I believe the time has come for both the CS and CSS communities to unite under a new title, and for both of our communities to show that FPS titles are not dead, but are still alive and kicking. It is time for us to show that we, the people, can reinstate the old e-Sports dominance of FPS titles, and there is only one thing we can currently rely on to help us in the progress: CS:GO. If I could have written “CSGO” in all-caps, size 46, pink-blinking letter font I would have, trust me.

A lot of you have already given this title a shot, and – unfortunately – many have already criticized it before even giving it a fair chance. “CS:GO is sooo crappy, I'll stick with CS:S!” is not the thought that you should be having, nor the attitude that will benefit the development of CSGO as a competitive e-Sports title in any way; lastly, it won't help your beloved CS or CSS either. All you are doing is attempting to mask the inevitable entrance of CSGO into the international e-Sports scene, and portraying the whole FPS-scene as a bunch of arrogant and ignorant brats.

Sure, CS:GO is a different game. Sure, it has modern-looking graphics and is less 'clean' in terms of all kinds of junk spread across the maps to give them atmosphere. Of course, it does not look like CS, nor does it look like CS:S. The game-mechanics, such as the movement and recoil control are also different. However they are meant to be – this a new game, no matter its resemblance to the past Counter-Strike titles, and it is a game with the ability to bring FPS gaming back to life. I believe the gameplay lays at an edge between the mechanics and gameplay of both CS and CSS. The resulting gameplay however is actually a new one that is still IN DEVELOPMENT, and we as members of the competitive e-Sports community must adapt OUR 'game' to the title, not vice-versa!

We are the people who have to show that this title is capable of incredibly entertaining matches, we are the people who have to unite as one and help one another to create a respectable, loveable and influential e-Sports community. We must understand that the future of the game is for a large part dependent on us, much like it was the case with both SCII and LoL.

CS:GO is a new game, and will – by all means – influence the future of all new FPS titles given the current e-Sports environment and the popularity of FPS games at events. Sure, I think that many people are going to criticize me because of the choice I am making, but my choice has been entirely thought-through – was yours? Is it not more interesting to follow the MLG, or to watch the ESWC in action, than almost any other LAN without a real FPS 'title'?

CS:GO has the ability to partake in all of these leagues, to be part of all the events and matters in e-Sports, but the game and its developers in no way can achieve this alone! The community must trust the developers to listen to the people playing their game, we must trust ourselves to be unbiased and thoughtful in the process of submitting feedback and sharing our views. The community must also trust the professional players and teams in their views that – given the fact that we are the people who know your beloved CS and CSS through and through – CSGO has a genuine potential of a great future.

We are by no means a set of conservatives, nor are we purists – we have seen the future, and we are ready to see the nature of FPS evolve, we are ready to see our FPS titles change in gameplay and content, and we are ready for our FPS titles to become great once again; this future we cannot achieve alone.

For this vision to become reality we require an unanimous reaction from all the communities, from all the teams and players, we NEED every single one of you to give CS:GO a chance before you drill it into the abyss which it does not deserve to see, even though we do understand your fear of its failure. The very first CS:GO match ever has over 1.2 million views on YouTube. The enthusiasm regarding this game must continue to develop, it must snowball and turn into a force of nature in order to keep the developers and all those who support the game, be it financially or otherwise, motivated to turn this title into a milestone in the history of e-Sports and FPS titles in general.

Not only are the fat-cats from CS:S supporting this motion, the giants from CS are also present (take Get_Right, Xizt, Neo, LoordB and Delpan to name just a few), and this shows a real change in the general mentality and spirit within the competitive community, as well as its strong will to evolve and advance!

A very great future of competitive FPS-titles and e-Sports is within our reach, and we must all unite in our enthusiasm and readiness to play a role in this future – from the casual players to the hardcore gamers, from your typical guy to your typical lass, from a small-time sponsor or investor to Wall Street-like business-giants: We need EVERYONE to give CS:GO a shot it truly deserves, and only then will we all see our wet-dreams come true. 

I really do hope you understand my view on this, and I hope I can count on you to make CS:GO evolve into the right shape. Show all the nay-sayers the flaming passion we still possess and the power we have - when we stand united - to hit the scene with what is likely to lead to the birth of the single greatest competitive FPS title ever: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.