Jess Cliffe speaks during an interview in 2005

Seattle police arrested Counter-Strike co-creator Jess Cliffe, 36, early this morning for sexual exploitation of a child. Police have not yet commented further on the case.




The arrest record shows that Cliffe, who has been an employee of Valve since 2003, was booked at 1:17am Pacific Time this morning. He was denied bail, according to the record. Seattle’s local KIRO 7 news reports that he has not been charged with a crime.


Cliffe created Counter-Strike alongside designer Minh Le in 1999 as a mod to the critically acclaimed shooter Half-Life. Valve later obtained the rights to Counter-Strike, and it has been one of the most popular multiplayer games in the world for nearly two decades.



UPDATE (9:47pm): Valve says it has suspended Cliffe, telling Kotaku: “We are still learning details of what actually happened. Reports suggest he has been arrested for a felony offense. As such we have suspended his employment until we know more.”

