There is a wave of VAC bans in CS – for the first time in 2 months

Spinners are still playing.

Valve has finally started issuing VAC bans. On April 27th, developers banned at least 150 accounts, with another 35 receiving bans the next day. There are even larger numbers: according to Csstats, over 500 accounts have been banned. For comparison, there were only 10 bans issued in a day over the past month, according to ConVars statistics.

Initially, the community was pleased that developers were finally addressing the issue of cheaters. But things are getting sadder.

Information has surfaced on Reddit that account farms are being targeted. As evidence, a screenshot is attached showing developers of farm management panels discussing the release of a new version of the application protected from VAC bans.

What are account farms? In recent years, players have often filled matches with bots to gain new levels and claim cases. Many farmers own hundreds of accounts, which they manage with special applications. Valve has been fighting them since last spring, but without serious success so far. There have been several waves before, but violators only received in-game bans. Presumably, VAC will now take care of catching them.

Naturally, the community is dissatisfied. Yes, farmers are a problem, especially for those who enjoy playing official matches. But most players are suffering not from them, but from cheaters whom Valve isn't combating. In the latest update, developers reintroduced the "Patrol," but no one has access to it, and during the CS:GO era, it was not an effective method—few were interested in watching others' demos.

There is still a belief that the current anti-cheat analyzes cheaters' behavior. It sounds logical: now it will learn from a vast database of cheats, and then it will be easy to deal with them. However, at the high level of the rankings, playing in the premier league is practically impossible—players run around with spinners and don't even attempt to hide their cheats.

For over a month now, the anti-cheat hasn't been banning violators. Valve, perhaps it's time to start taking action and at least banning the most blatant offenders.