By Sagar V. Mankar What is the Recent CS2 Ban Wave All About?
In an attempt to reclaim Counter-Strike 2 from the clutches of cheaters, Valve has unleashed a massive ban wave that has reportedly taken out at least 26,000 accounts in just under two weeks.
According to data shared by CS2stats with content creator Gabe Follower, the bans have primarily been VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) bans, along with some game bans mixed in.
We’ve tracked over 26,000 bans since the ban number started increasing. It’s not at the 100k people keep wanting, but we’re moving in that direction quite rapidly
— CS Stats (@cs2stats) May 8, 2024
While 26,000 banned cheaters may seem like a drop in the bucket for the free-to-play tactical shooter that has been plagued by hackers, it represents a significant step towards improving the game’s integrity.
Since the bans started rolling out on April 26th, many players are reporting now less frequent encounters with cheaters.
The Extent of the CS2 Cheating Problem
Before the ban wave, the cheating situation in CS2 had reached Crisis levels, especially in Premier matchmaking mode.
Both pro players and casual fans were up in arms about hackers infesting nearly every match.
The issue became so severe that thousands of players fled to the third-party platform FACEIT to experience CS2 without aimbots and wallhacks ruining games.
Prominent voices like Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek and Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev have criticized Valve, accusing them of neglecting their own game while FACEIT provides a superior experience.
Pros like Summit1g even called for making Premier mode a paid experience to disincentivize new free accounts for cheaters.
However, many believe that an effective kernel-level anti-cheat like the controversial Vanguard system used by Riot for Valorant is required.
Players will have to wait and see if these 26,000+ bans mark a true turning point or just a temporary reprieve from CS2’s cheating woes.
Source: DOT Esports