Game maker Valve just announced that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) has been targeted for release in early 2012.

It will be available for the Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam (for PC and Mac). It will be Valve's follow-up to the wildly popular Counter-Strike video game.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will feature new maps, characters, weapons and "expand on CS' award-winning gameplay and deliver it to gamers on the PC as well as the next gen consoles and the Mac."

The game will be playable at this year's PAX Prime (August 26th to August 28th).

Doug Lombard, VP of Marketing at Valve, took the opportunity mention that Counter-Strike has been "one of the most-played games in the world" in the last decade, headlined competitive gaming tournaments, and sold "over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise."

Below is the photo of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive that Valve released.

Counter-Strike Global Offensive
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Valve
Valve Software