The Swedish developer Michael Hüll regrets today that he sold his map “Mirage” for the shooter CS:GO to the Steam giant Valve 11 years ago. He says he wouldn’t do it anymore today. It’s not about money at all, but about pride and honor. He disagrees with some changes made to Mirage.
What kind of map is this?
- The map “Mirage” was released for CS:GO on June 6, 2013. It is a map where you have to defuse a bomb. It takes place in Morocco.
- The map was originally designed for Counter-Strike 1.6 as “de_cpl_strike”.
- As 3DJuegos knows, Mirage has since become the most popular map in CS:GO, even surpassing Dust 2 in popularity. Mirage has been played in every major, the most important eSports events in CS:GO.
“If I had known how big CS:GO would become, I would never have sold it”
This is what the creator of the map says: Michael Hüll stated on Twitter on February 8 that he sold the map to Valve 11 years ago. If he had known how big CS:GO and Counter-Strike 2 would become, he would have never sold it.
They made a good deal, but also made some changes that he does not agree with. He refers to some changes to “A” and to the center of the map that would have altered how the map is played today.
It’s not about money for him, but about honor and pride
Is he annoyed that he would have received more for it today? At first glance, one might think money is the main reason:
- When he sold the map in 2013, CS:GO had around 34,000 players on Steam.
- Today there are 1.2 million.
- Therefore, one can assume that he would have received much more money for his creation today.
But he says: It’s not the money that drives him, as he works on his own, but really the changes to the map that he does not like.
The recognition he has received over the years for the map is more important to him than money. For him, pride and honor are what matter most.
Even under this Twitter thread, some congratulate him for having created the “best map in CS:GO,” which clearly pleases him.
Currently works as a Senior Level Designer at a subsidiary of Bethesda
So what is he doing today? Michael Hüll works as a video game developer, specifically as a Senior Level Designer for MachineGames in Uppsala, who are developing the new Indiana Jones game for Bethesda.
That Valve is indeed making enough money with CS:GO to pay map designers is beyond question:
The title image comes from Michael Hüll’s Twitter account.
