A redesigned special version of Counter-Strike is being crafted by Software, aimed at the Asian games market.

Valve will partner with South Korean giant Nexon to deliver the game to several far-eastern nations, including Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea. The game will be an entirely online-based affair, with Nexon having previously released Asian phenomenon MapleStory.

Counter-Strike has been rocking the world since it debuted at the tail-end of the previous decade, and the game was spruced-up via the Source engine in 2004 - alongside 2's arrival. The game sees players acting as terrorists or rescuers, and features gritty, realistic team-based action.

"By combining their proven abilities and leadership position in Asia with Counter-Strike's award-winning core gameplay, we have the recipe for customising an online phenomenon for each of the Asian markets," beamed Valve's Gabe Newell.

Quite how the Asian version of Counter-Strike will differ from the existing title, distributed via Steam, remains unclear.

By Luke Guttridge