Counter-Strike 2 dev Ido Magal confirms that 960,000 accounts have been banned from the FPS in its ongoing clampdown on CS2 farming bots.
Ken Allsop
Updated:
Friday March 27 – Updated to clarify the nature of the bans.
Valve has just handed out almost a million bans in a major clampdown on Counter-Strike 2 bots and case farming. Project lead Ido Magal has confirmed the sheer size of the ban wave in response to players noticing a spike in the number of accounts being hit. The developer states that its focus was on “farming bot accounts,” and thanks players for assisting in its ongoing investigation with reports of any suspicious activity.
The Counter-Strike 2 community is always keeping a close eye on the number of bans that roll out in a single day. No-one who’s legitimately playing the multiplayer game likes to deal with cheaters ruining their experience, but often just as frustrating are accounts that sit in lobbies either AFK or with their character played by a bot. These are frequently used in order to farm for CS2 cases, which drop periodically while playing, given the huge potential returns that can be made on the most expensive CS2 skins.
Responding to a Reddit thread from user ‘Positive-Carpenter53,’ who noticed what appeared to be the start of a “very big VAC wave incoming,” Magal confirms just how large the numbers are. “Yesterday we banned 960,000 farming bot accounts,” he writes. “This was the result of a bunch of investigation that benefited from user reports. Thank you.” He asks that players continue to submit any suspicious accounts to the CSGO feedback email, titling them ‘Farming Bot Report.’
It’s worth noting that many of the accounts that were hit by this wave are facing the lesser ‘game bans,’ rather than full VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) bans, which are a more severe punishment. VAC bans are “permanent, non-negotiable, and cannot be removed by Steam support.” There have been instances of manual reversals, such as in January this year, when the developer confirmed “an issue that led to a small number of users erroneously receiving a VAC ban.” Among those impacted, and then freed, was a designer for its recently embraced Alpine map.
Anyone hit with a VAC ban is unable to play any other VAC-secured multiplayer games, including CS Source, Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, TF2, and Day of Defeat. It also prevents you from sending items to other accounts, and from uploading or voting on Steam Workshop content for the any of the affected games. It does not stop you from buying or playing new single-player games or engaging in local, LAN-based multiplayer. These restrictions are not applied to game bans, which in this case would only prevent players from accessing Counter-Strike 2.
It’s good to see a clampdown on these farming accounts, which can be hugely disruptive if they end up in your matches. Valve is also facing an ongoing lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James, with the accusation that its CS2 cases “promote illegal gambling.” Valve has stated that it believes this is not the case, but notes, “Ultimately, a court will decide whose position is correct.”
Ken Allsop Ken is a news writer for PCGamesN. He wants to play everything that comes out, but keeps finding himself back on old favorites. As such, you’ll find him covering the latest updates for FFXIV and Terraria, and diving deep into some of today’s biggest games such as Path of Exile 2 and Hollow Knight Silksong. He especially loves RPGs, soulslikes, and roguelikes, and just won’t stop talking about the Monster Hunter and Like a Dragon games. A masters graduate in mathematics, you’ll also find Ken playing the piano, cello, and guitar in his spare time.