Amid the news that Diabotical creators The GD Studio were releasing new game Diabotical Rogue, two retired Counter-Strike pros, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund and Adam “friberg” Friberg, have revealed their involvement with the developer. 

Both GeT_RiGhT and friberg announced joining the company via social media on June 5, and in accompanying articles in Dust2’s Swedish vertical.

Esports.net was lucky enough to talk to GD Studio founder James “2GD” Harding who gave us the scoop on exactly what the two Swedish former pros would be working on. And it appears to be Counter-Strike adjacent.

Diabotical CS-style Mode Made with GeT_RiGhT and friberg 

According to The GD Studio GeT_RiGhT and friberg will be working on a CS-style PvP game mode that will likely involve some element of bomb defusal.

“GeT_RiGhT and friberg have come to the studio and used the engine a few times, and there were always talks of what they want to do after retirement. So we’ve signed them to the studio to see if they can make a fresh spin and do something a little… I don’t want to say bomb defuse, but yeah, in the vein of Counter-Strike.They’ve been working on that. And that will be kind of rounding out the PvP playset [of Diabotical Rogue]” – 2GD on GeT_RiGhT and friberg’s project

2GD went on to elaborate that the duo have pretty much full creative control over the game mode. “They made me sign that they get to be in charge and I only get to say yes or no to on budget because they want to really put their stamp on it”

If Diabotical Rogue’s first two game modes were skill and power fantasy heavy, the CS-style mode will be what the studio called a “strategy fantasy.” 

The efforts are part of GD Studio’s efforts to prove that former esports pro players have something meaningful to share in terms of game design. Much of the motivation comes from the feeling that in the past game studios ignored the players feedback.

“friberg told me he’s probably sent the most emails to Valve of any pro gamer. But he’s so wonderful to work with because he’s so detail-oriented and he goes in and he finds all this stuff and breaks all this shit that he hates and then he tells us to fix it.” – 2GD

Now with the former champions joining a cadre of similarly-minded developers, they’re finding out if their feedback really can lead to a better game.