Counter-Strike: Global Offensive launches summer

Valve has narrowed the release date for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to summer 2012.

Valve's follow-up to the highly anticipated multiplayer shooter will hit Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and Mac sometime this summer, according to an announcement made at the recent Xbox Spring Showcase.

However, this is tempered somewhat by the news that you'll no longer be able to play against gamers on other systems, with cross-platform play dropped in favour of more regular PC and Mac updates.

"The beta has proved we want to update not just the beta, but the game itself post-launch frequently on PC," Valve's Chet Faliszek told Joystiq. "To do that we need to separate the platforms so one doesn't hamstring the other.

"So for that, we have removed the idea of cross-platform play - essentially, make all platforms stronger by not mixing them."

Reactions to this news are likely to be mixed. Some were looking forward to playing against friends on other platforms, while others were concerned about the potential for mouse-and-keyboard players to dominate those using joypads.

In short, then: expect raging arguments on forums and petitions to reinstate cross-platform play within the next few days. This is the internet, after all.