A group of players readying their weapons in Counter-Strike 2

Valve Launches Wave of Counter-Strike 2 VAC Bans, Seemingly Hits Non-Cheaters [UPDATED]

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Published: December 5, 2023 3:00 PM

Disgruntled Counter-Strike 2 players are reporting that a wave of VAC bans has been hitting them, even though they don't seem to have been cheating in the game.

Right now, the multiplayer shooter's Steam discussion boards are awash with players claiming they've been hit with erroneous VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) bans.

Update 3:00 pm EST: TechRaptor has reached out to Valve requesting clarification on the issue, and a representative explained that the bans were triggered by yesterday's update and the problem has been fixed.

Rollbacks are currently in progress, so if you're affected, help is on the way.

You can read the rest of the original article below.

If you're seeing something like this when trying to play Counter-Strike 2, then rest assured that you're not alone.

A screen describing a Valve Anti-Cheat ban for Counter-Strike 2

Players seem to be suggesting that the VAC bans being issued to them are unfair, as many who receive the ban say they've done nothing wrong.

Of course, it's possible that every single player who's receiving a VAC ban as part of this wave deserves it, but it's hugely unlikely, especially when considering that the wave appears to be hitting professional players as well.

At time of writing, Valve has yet to respond to the ban wave or to address it in any way via social media, although it's likely only a matter of time until the developer becomes aware of the problem.

So, what's causing the problem? It's not clear, but some players are suggesting that it could have something to do with updates to either AMD or Nvidia drivers.

Image of CS2 Terrorist Side With Names Blurred

However, other players are reporting that they haven't installed these updates and have still been banned, so it could be a problem related to a recent Counter-Strike 2 update, too.

The most likely explanation, however, is that this is a bug on Valve's end, and that once Valve's attention is drawn to this wave of VAC bans, the ones that are unjust will hopefully be reversed.

This isn't even the first time a wave of false Counter-Strike 2 bans has been reported; back in October, an AMD graphics driver update was read by the game as tampering with its code, resulting in bans for many players who unwittingly installed those updates.

Those bans were eventually reversed, so we can only hope that this is a similar situation. Stay tuned for more on this.


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Joe has been writing for TechRaptor for several years, and in those years has learned a lot about the gaming industry and its foibles. He’s originally an… More about Joseph