# Minh Le > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Minh_Le > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Minh_Le.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minh_Le > Source revision: 1357204250 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Creator of Counter-Strike}} {{for|the chess player|Lê Tuấn Minh}} {{Infobox person | name = Minh Le | image = File:Minh Le in 2019.jpg | caption = Minh Le in 2019 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1977|6|27}} | birth_place = [Vietnam](/source/Vietnam) | employer = {{ubl|[Valve](/source/Valve_Corporation) (2000–2006)|FIX Korea (2009–2013)|[Facepunch Studios](/source/Facepunch_Studios) (2013–2018){{cite news|title=Devblog 196|url=https://rust.facepunch.com/blog/devblog-196/|access-date=1 February 2018|publisher=Facepunch Studios|date=1 February 2018}}|[Pearl Abyss](/source/Pearl_Abyss) (2018–2023){{cite web |title=CS creator - about Gabe, selling the game and anticheat | website=[YouTube](/source/YouTube) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_qKWRWzTyk&t=1468 |access-date=20 January 2025 |ref=17 |date=20 January 2025}}}} | other_names = Gooseman | occupation = Video game programmer | alma_mater = [Simon Fraser University](/source/Simon_Fraser_University) | years_active = 1996-present | known_for = Co-creator of ''[Counter-Strike](/source/Counter-Strike)'' | spouse = Unnamed (m. 2016) }} '''Minh Le''' ({{langx|vi|Lê Minh}}; born June 27, 1977), also known by his online nickname '''Gooseman''', is a [Vietnamese-Canadian](/source/Vietnamese_Canadian) video game programmer who co-created the ''[Half-Life](/source/Half-Life_(video_game))'' [mod](/source/mod_(computer_gaming)) ''[Counter-Strike](/source/Counter-Strike_(video_game))'' with [Jess Cliffe](/source/Jess_Cliffe) in 1999 and started the [''Counter-Strike'' series](/source/Counter-Strike).{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/GoosemanTI/status/672546331093680129 |title=Minh Le's tweet confirming birth year |author=Minh Le |date=2015-12-03}} He was later employed by [Valve](/source/Valve_Corporation), the developers of ''Half-Life'', and worked for 8 years in Korea on the multiplayer [first-person shooter](/source/first-person_shooter) ''[Tactical Intervention](/source/Tactical_Intervention)''. He is a contractor on the multiplayer survival [first-person shooter](/source/first-person_shooter) ''[Rust](/source/Rust_(video_game))''. In the small-team games that he has worked on, Le has been a [programmer](/source/game_programmer), [modeler](/source/Game_art_design), and [designer](/source/game_designer). His nickname comes from [Shane Gooseman](/source/List_of_The_Adventures_of_the_Galaxy_Rangers_characters), one of the main characters of 1980s cartoon series ''[The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers](/source/The_Adventures_of_the_Galaxy_Rangers)''.{{cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MikeRose/20140122/209061/Minh_quotGoosemanquot_Le_plays_CSGO_with_Gamasutra.php|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140123131411/http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MikeRose/20140122/209061/Minh_quotGoosemanquot_Le_plays_CSGO_with_Gamasutra.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 23, 2014|title=Minh "Gooseman" Le plays CS:GO with Gamasutra|last=Rose|first=Mike|date=22 January 2014|work=[Gamasutra](/source/Gamasutra)|publisher=Think Services|access-date=23 January 2014}} ==Biography== Minh Le was born in Vietnam. In 1979, he and his parents left Vietnam on a boat and immigrated to [Canada](/source/Canada) as [refugees](/source/refugees).{{Cite web|url=https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/kultur/historie/forbandet-af-sit-eget-livsvaerk-manden-bag-kaempesuccesen-counter-strike-er|title=Forbandet af sit eget livsværk: Manden bag kæmpesuccesen 'Counter-Strike' er på ingen måde rig i dag|website=DR|date=15 June 2019|language=da-DK|access-date=2019-08-21}} Le attended [Simon Fraser University](/source/Simon_Fraser_University) from 1996 to 2001, graduating in 2001 with a [Bachelor of Applied Science](/source/Bachelor_of_Applied_Science) degree in [Computing Science](/source/Computing_Science). His curriculum and electives were "focused mainly on computer graphics courses covering subjects such as compression algorithms, 3D animation techniques, image recognition."[https://www.linkedin.com/in/minhle1/?originalSubdomain=ca Mihn Le], LinkedIn. Le picked up [id Software](/source/id_Software)'s ''[Quake](/source/Quake_(video_game))'' in 1996 and began playing with its [software development kit](/source/software_development_kit), and after about a year he completed his first [mod](/source/mod_(computer_gaming)), ''Navy SEALs'', ''Counter-Strike''{{'}}s spiritual predecessor.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/interview-with-minh-le |title=Interview with Minh Le |author=John McLean-Foreman |date=2001-05-30 |access-date=2009-09-28 |publisher=[Gamasutra](/source/Gamasutra)}}{{cite web|url=http://www.firingsquad.com/features/gooseint/ |title=Gooseman Counter-Strike Interview |author=James Yu |date=2001-01-25 |access-date=2006-12-02 |publisher=FiringSquad |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016234229/http://www.firingsquad.com/features/gooseint/ |archive-date=October 16, 2006 }} While he was working on the ''[Action Quake 2](/source/Action_Quake_2)'' mod, he came up with the idea for ''Counter-Strike'' and became friends with ''Action Quake 2''{{'}}s webmaster Jess Cliffe and Marcelo Dilay. Le began work on ''[Counter-Strike](/source/Counter-Strike)'' as a mod for ''[Half-Life](/source/Half-Life_(video_game))'' while he was in the middle of his fourth year at [Simon Fraser University](/source/Simon_Fraser_University) (he later graduated with a degree in [computer science](/source/computer_science)).{{cite web |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=265 |title=Interview - Minh Le of Counter Strike team |date=2000-10-03 |access-date=2006-12-02 |publisher=[Eurogamer](/source/Eurogamer)}} He spent about 20 hours a week on making the mod, expending more effort on it than he did on his schoolwork, and released the first [beta version](/source/beta_version) in June 1999. The "Counter-Strike Team" quickly produced several more beta releases in the following months as the game's popularity skyrocketed. By the fourth beta version, [Valve](/source/Valve_Corporation), the [developer](/source/video_game_developer) who created ''Half-Life'', began assisting in the development of ''Counter-Strike''.{{cite web|url=http://www.redherring.com/Home/3717 |title=Development a la mod |work=[Red Herring](/source/Red_Herring_(magazine)) |date=2001-05-08 |access-date=2009-09-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123001446/http://www.redherring.com/Home/3717 |archive-date=January 23, 2010 }} In 2000, Valve bought the rights to ''Counter-Strike'' and hired Le and Cliffe to work with them in [Bellevue, Washington](/source/Bellevue%2C_Washington), where Le continued to work on new patches for the game. Following the release of CS 1.0, he began developing a prototype of ''[Counter-Strike 2](/source/Counter-Strike_2)'', however, after roughly three years of work, the project was shelved when it had reached only about 25% completion.[https://web.archive.org/web/20010527020610/http://www.voodooextreme.com:80/comments.taf?postID=15167&_start=156 Gabe Newell's reply] on Voodoo Extreme. Archived from the original on 2001-05-27.{{cite web |url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/102/1028810p1.html |title=The Next Counterstrike: A conversation with Minh Le and a look at Tactical Intervention. |author=Ben Min |date=2009-09-28 |access-date=2009-09-28}}Arcade Attack - [https://www.arcadeattack.co.uk/minh-le/ Minh Le (Counter Strike) – Interview]{{cite web |title=Creator of Counter-Strike - Interview with Minh Le (timestamp 23:10) | website=[YouTube](/source/YouTube) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bWPfZMG0Bo |access-date=16 February 2021 |date=16 February 2021}} With ''Counter-Strike 2'' discontinued, Minh Le turned his attention to developing ''[Day of Defeat: Source](/source/Day_of_Defeat%3A_Source)''. After its release, he decided to leave Valve in 2006 to work on a project of his own. After two years working with a small team on this project, he moved to [South Korea](/source/South_Korea) in 2008 to work with a business named FIX Korea who provided funding for further development. Le's new game was later revealed to be ''[Tactical Intervention](/source/Tactical_Intervention)'', a game similar in style to ''Counter-Strike'' created with a modified version of Valve's [Source engine](/source/Source_engine).{{cite web |url=http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/60649 |title=Counter-Strike Creator Reveals 'Tactical Intervention' |author=Breckon, Nick |date=2009-09-28 |access-date=2009-09-28 |publisher=[Shacknews](/source/Shacknews)}} In October 2013, he joined [Facepunch Studios](/source/Facepunch_Studios), where he worked on ''[Rust](/source/Rust_(video_game))''.{{Cite web |url=https://www.facepunch.com/team/member/minh.le/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2019-03-27 |archive-date=2018-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230164008/https://facepunch.com/team/member/minh.le/ |url-status=dead }} He left Facepunch Studios in February 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://rust.facepunch.com/blog/devblog-196/#Goosey_Going|title=Devblog 196 - News}} In March 2018, he joined [Pearl Abyss](/source/Pearl_Abyss) to start working on a new project for the game studio that made the MMORPG ''[Black Desert Online](/source/Black_Desert_Online)''.{{cite web |url=http://wccftech.com/gooseman-joins-pearl-abyss-new-project/ |title=Counter-Strike Co-Creator Minh 'Gooseman' Le Joins Pearl Abyss To Work on New Project |author=Palumbo, Alessio |date=2018-04-03 |access-date=2018-04-04}} Le later continued working in small-team and independent game development. His later projects included ''Alpha Response'', a tactical PvE shooter released in early access. In 2026, Le said he had considered returning to work on ''Counter-Strike 2'', particularly on weapon animations and maps, while also stating that he believed ''Counter-Strike'' was "in a really good space".{{cite web |last=Davidović |first=Radosław |title=Exclusive Interview: Minh "Gooseman" Le on CS2, Indie Development, and the Game He Helped Create |url=https://hellcase.com/blog/hellcase-news/interview-with-minh-le-gooseman/ |website=Hellcase Blog |date=24 May 2026 |access-date=1 June 2026}} ==Recognition== In 2003, a [GameSpy](/source/GameSpy) editorial cited Minh Le as the most important reason ''Half-Life'' was still popular five years after it was released.{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespy.com/articles/489/489723p4.html |title=Top Ten Reasons Half-Life is Still #1 |author=Kevin Bowen |date=2003-02-09 |access-date=2006-12-02 |publisher=[GameSpy](/source/GameSpy) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050324180400/http://www.gamespy.com/articles/489/489723p4.html |archive-date=March 24, 2005 }} [IGN](/source/IGN) ranked Jess Cliffe and Minh Le as number 14 in their "Top 100 Game Creators of All Time" list.{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/top/game-creators/14.html |title=Top 100 Game Creators of All Time |publisher=[IGN](/source/IGN) |access-date=2014-09-26}} ==Works== {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Year !Title !Role |- !2000 |''[Counter-Strike](/source/Counter-Strike_(video_game))'' |Game designer |- !2005 |''[Day of Defeat: Source](/source/Day_of_Defeat%3A_Source)'' |3D artist |- !2013 |''[Tactical Intervention](/source/Tactical_Intervention)'' |Game designer |- !2018 |''[Rust](/source/Rust_(video_game))'' |3D artist |- !TBD |''[Alpha Response](/source/Alpha_Response_(video_game))'' |Game designer |- |} ==References== {{Reflist}} == External links == * {{Twitter}} {{Valve}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Le, Minh}} Category:Canadian computer programmers Category:Canadian people of Vietnamese descent Category:Canadian software engineers Category:Canadian video game designers Category:Vietnamese engineers Category:Living people Category:Simon Fraser University alumni Category:Valve Corporation people Category:Video game programmers Category:1977 births --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Minh Le](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minh_Le) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minh_Le?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.