The debate around cheating in Counter-Strike 2 has heated up again after Gabe Follower suggested that Valve continues to work behind the scenes to improve its anti-cheat. His comments quickly drew criticism from players who believe the situation is getting worse and want to see real results. Gabe Follower also pointed to the possible return of Overwatch and recent VAC ban waves as signs that Valve is still testing new solutions.
Community accuses Gabe Follower of giving Valve too much time
One of the strongest responses came from x4r1ncs. He accused Gabe Follower of repeating the same argument for too long while cheating continues to hurt CS2.
You’ve been saying this shit for so long now and cheating is worse than ever.
The user also mocked the idea that players should wait for Valve. In his view, claims about anti-cheat improvements happening behind the scenes are no longer enough.
Gabe Follower responded with a lengthy clarification. He rejected the suggestion that he is trying to “protect” Valve. He admitted that he might be somewhat biased. At the same time, he stressed that he has repeatedly criticized the state of CS2’s anti-cheat.
According to Gabe Follower, cheaters have always existed and probably always will. Still, he does not believe players should simply accept the current situation. Instead, he encouraged unhappy users to “vote with your actions.” They can play other games rather than allowing CS2’s problems to ruin their experience.
He also denied telling the community to simply give Valve more time. Gabe Follower said improvements “might take more time” because Valve’s development process is unpredictable. He did not mean that players should wait indefinitely.
x4r1ncs says the scale of cheating is no longer acceptable
The response did not end the argument. x4r1ncs agreed that competitive games will always have cheaters. However, he believes the scale of the problem makes the current CS2 situation different.
There will always be cheaters but NOT TO THIS EXTENT.
He specifically pointed to Premier mode. According to x4r1ncs, cheaters heavily affect matches at extremely high ratings. He argued that basic anti-cheat features should not require years of development. This is especially important for one of the world’s biggest competitive FPS games.
The criticism also went beyond Gabe Follower. Several users argued that Valve has neglected CS2 and its community. Others criticized content creators for discussing possible anti-cheat improvements when players still see few results in the game.
One player summarized the frustration:
We are tired of optimism. We want results.
Another user said CS2 still “feels way worse than CS:GO.” Others questioned why obvious rage cheaters and automated accounts can remain active for long periods.
Other players defend Gabe Follower
However, not everyone agreed with the criticism. Several users defended Gabe Follower and argued that others had misrepresented his comments.
Some noted that reporting on Valve’s experiments does not mean defending the company. It also does not mean asking the community to tolerate cheating. Meanwhile, other users criticized the hostile reaction to positive or neutral discussions about CS2.
One response suggested that some viewers only focus on video titles and thumbnails. As a result, they may ignore Gabe Follower’s actual arguments. Another commenter described him as one of the few creators who still appears to trust Valve’s long-term plans.
The debate eventually grew beyond the anti-cheat itself. It also raised questions about how creators should cover Valve’s development process and how the community reacts to such reports.
CS2’s anti-cheat remains a major community concern
The exchange shows how little patience remains among parts of the CS2 community. Anti-cheat changes, VAC waves and systems such as Overwatch continue to attract attention. However, many players now judge Valve’s progress by their own experiences in Premier and matchmaking.
Gabe Follower believes Valve continues to test different solutions behind the scenes. At the same time, there is no clear timeline for visible improvements. His critics are no longer satisfied with waiting. After years of complaints, they want Valve’s anti-cheat work to produce clear results inside the game.
