VAC in CS2 will now terminate the game if a cheater is found

Finally, a fair implementation.

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Valve recently issued an update to the CS2 beta that changed a lot of things, the most notable of which is the way VAC now deals with cheaters. Finally, after feeling like VAC wasn’t doing enough, we have a strong resolution and a way to stop a team profiting from being landed with a cheater. VAC in CS2 will now terminate the game if a cheater is found.

VAC in Counter-Strike 2 is changing

The term VAC stands for Valve Anti-Cheat, and it’s been deployed over numerous of Valve’s games, including TF2, CS:GO, and now, CS2.

VAC has played a crucial role in keeping our CS:GO games untainted by cheaters, and while it has worked for a while, more and more cheaters find ways to slip through the cracks.

While Valve hasn’t, (and never will) revealed how VAC has been adapted to serve CS2, there have been very few delightful details posted in a recent development update for CS2.

Now, VAC will terminate a game, gracefully, as Valve put it, at the end of the current round. This will occur unless it is the last round being played and the cheating team is losing.

So the game will be terminated unless it is going to naturally result in a win from the non-cheating team. And by non-cheating, we just mean the team that doesn’t have the cheater on it.

Thankfully, the match will not affect any of the participant’s skill groups. This means that the game will not count as a win/loss against your current rank.

In a clever twist, everyone who didn’t enter with the cheater in a lobby will earn XP for the match. This smart move gives no incentive to play with a cheater, as you will not benefit from it.

The good news is, you won’t get VAC banned for cooking chickens in CS2.

Will these changes discourage cheaters?

We’d like to think so, if a company tries hard to De-incentivising cheating then that can be just as good as any Anti-cheat worth its salt.

There will always be cheaters on games, and there will always be ways to circumvent anti-cheat software, however, Valve’s punishment has always been swift and true. We trust Valve to stay on top of the cheaters in CS2, and we can’t wait to jump in and play. This was how VAC in CS2 will now terminate the game if a cheater is found.

If you enjoyed this news, you might also be pleased to know that CS2 Workshop Tools are finally here.

Can you play CS2 with a VAC ban?

According to this post by AFKgaming, if you are currently VAC banned from CS:GO, you will not be able to play Counter-Strike 2. Which is fair, because they are basically the same game. Valve is just using the opportunity to update some things. You will not be able to appeal the ban either.

Can’t wait to play CS2?

If you really can’t wait to play CS2 then we have some good news for you. There is a second wave of players being added to the CS2 limited test as we speak. So if you’re lucky and your account is in good standing, you might just have access to the CS2 Limited test right now.