Counter-strike: Global Offensive to feature ranked matchmaking

The eSports friendly Counter-strike: Global offensive is all about skill, not RPG-like grinding for the advantage.

"The overriding thing about Counter-Strike is it's about skill, and it's about your abilities," Valve's Chet Faliszek told Destructoid.

"So when you jump into a game it's not that hey, this guy you're playing against has played a thousand more hours than you and has a bunch of new weapons that you don't have, or some skill you haven't earned yet. You have every thing he has and he has everything you have as the round starts.

"It's all about skill and competition, and keeping that really pure, where you know if you got beat, it's because that other guy was better than you, or that you made a mistake."

Faliszek said Valve is emphasising ranked matchmaking based on skill, so players can always find an appropriate match.

"So if you are scared that it's going to be that brutal, that you're going to have you arse handed to you and you'll have to walk away from it, remember that you're going to be playing with the same skill as you," he said.

"The best games are the games that are really close."

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is expected next year, on Mac, PC, the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live.