Following a recent update to Counter-Strike 2, the community has been hit by a wave of false VAC bans, issued without any apparent violations from players. Within hours of the first reports, initial confirmations began to surface that these sanctions were being automatically reversed, pointing to a malfunction within the Valve Anti-Cheat system.
Early signals and insider response
One of the first to highlight the issue was well-known insider and analyst Thour, who stated that Valve were already working on rolling back the false bans and urged players to avoid ranked modes until an official confirmation is made.
It looks like Counter-Strike is now working on removing false VAC bans after the recent CS2 update. I would advise waiting for an official announcement before queueing, Thour wrote.
His post triggered a wave of replies from users confirming similar experiences on their own accounts.
Widespread confirmation: bans removed without contacting support
The most notable detail is that many VAC bans were lifted automatically, without players needing to contact Steam Support. Users reported receiving ban removal notifications 10 to 30 minutes after the sanction was applied. The Steam message contained a clear statement:
We apologize, it looks like we made a mistake and have removed this false ban.
Valve also confirmed that access to VAC-secured servers had been fully restored, emphasizing that the ban was the result of a system error rather than a rule violation.
Historical context: this has happened before
As discussion intensified, the community quickly recalled a similar incident in December 2023, when a CS2 update mistakenly triggered VAC bans. At the time, Valve publicly acknowledged the issue and announced that ban rollbacks were underway. Thour referenced that case as well, noting Valve’s tendency to fix such issues quietly:
Historically, they don’t always make announcements — they just roll the bans back. They’ve done it before.
This reinforced the belief that the current situation is a systemic post-update error, not a new or stricter anti-cheat wave.
Parallel concerns: FPS and optimization debate
Alongside the VAC incident, another discussion erupted within the community — a potential FPS drop following the update. Some players claimed performance losses of up to 30–35%, raising further alarm. However, Thour publicly disputed these claims after running his own benchmarks:
I ran a benchmark and saw zero difference. Claiming a 30% FPS drop without evidence isn’t reasonable.
The conflicting feedback highlighted the overall instability of the update and the chaotic nature of its initial rollout.
Community reaction: relief mixed with distrust
Social media quickly filled with reactions from players confirming that their bans had been removed:
- “My VAC got removed, can confirm.”
- “We are so back.”
- “I can finally play again.”
At the same time, a large portion of the community expressed frustration over the lack of official communication:
- “They better announce it, I don’t want to queue league.”
- “It’s removed, but it still shows in-game — what am I supposed to do?”
Some players also noted that the anti-cheat currently appears unusually passive, with even blatant cheaters reportedly avoiding bans — possibly indicating a temporary reduction in VAC sensitivity while fixes are applied.
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Current status and recommendations
At this stage, all available evidence suggests that Valve are actively removing false VAC bans, but no official statement has yet been released. As a result, analysts and insiders recommend that players proceed cautiously:
- avoid ranked matches;
- do not run third-party software;
- wait for official confirmation that VAC is fully stable.
Given the scale of the issue and the number of confirmations, an official Valve response appears inevitable, even if the company ultimately opts for minimal communication, as it has in the past.
