Counter-Strike Co-Creator Arrested For Sexual Exploitation of a Child (Updated)

Update: Jess Cliffe has been denied bail by the King County Superior Court. There still have not been any details released by the Seattle Police, but today’s decision to keep Cliffe in custody means there is validity to and a heightened sense of concern over the nature of the charges.

Jess Cliffe, co-creator of Counter-Strike, was arrested by Seattle Police on Thursday Morning for the sexual exploitation of a child. Details of the arrest have not yet been released to the public.https://t.co/UVpAIKksnwpic.twitter.com/vyiJs40y2s

— Twin Galaxies (@TwinGalaxies) February 2, 2018

Original Story: Jess Cliffe, the co-creator of Counter-Strike, has been arrested on charges of sexual exploitation of a child. According to Seattle’s KIRO 7, Cliffe has yet to be charged but is expected to appear in a bail hearing on Friday. Cliffe was also suspended by Valve pending the company’s own investigation.

Cliffe made his name in videogame development when he and Minh Le developed Counter-Strike as a Half-Life mod. He went on to work on level design for numerous Valve titles, including Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal 2. He also returned to Counter-Strike with the current and most popular entry in the franchise, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

The arrest was made Thursday morning, with Cliffe being booked into the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle. Police did not say if a child was harmed, but KIRO 7 noted in a televised report that an arrest of this type usually “indicates creating child porn,” according to prosecutors.