Minh Le is a Canadian game designer and developer best known for co-creating Counter-Strike with Jess Cliffe in 1999. As project leader, he handled programming and modeling for the groundbreaking mod.

Born in Canada to Vietnamese refugees, Le began his career creating mods, starting with Navy SEALs using the Quake SDK during his university years. He later joined the Action Quake 2 development team, where he met Jess Cliffe. Seeking creative freedom, Le left to develop Counter-Strike, collaborating with Cliffe on the project.

Following Counter-Strike's massive success around Beta 5 and Beta 6, Valve Software acquired the rights in 2000 and hired both creators. At Valve, Le worked on Counter-Strike updates and began development on Counter-Strike 2, which was ultimately shelved at 25% completion due to concerns about community reception and engine limitations.

Career Highlights:

• Worked on Day of Defeat: Source (weapon animations)
• Briefly contributed to Counter-Strike: Source
• Left Valve in 2006 to pursue independent projects
• Developed Tactical Intervention (2008-2013)
• Joined Facepunch Studios (2013) as 3D animator for Rust
• Contributed to Critical Ops as an advisor
• Worked at Pearl Abyss (2018-2023) on PLAN 8

Notable Facts:

• His alias "Gooseman" comes from The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers
• Left-handed, originally animated CS weapons for left-handed operation
• Favorite Counter-Strike version is Beta 7
• His nickname "Goose" appears as graffiti on Dust2's A bombsite
• Shares the same birthday as co-creator Jess Cliffe
• Inspired multiple game references, including the "Wild Gooseman Chase" achievement in CS:Source

Throughout his career, Le has consistently focused on weapon mechanics and animations, contributing significantly to the feel and impact of first-person shooter games.

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