Valve Warns Counter-Strike 2 Cheaters It Will Punish ‘All Their Associates’, Too

Valve dropped Counter-Strike 2 on Steam yesterday alongside a stark warning to cheaters: not only will it ban them, but all their friends, too.

“When one or more party members get convicted of cheating and permanently banned, all their associates will be penalized with loss of Profile Rank and CS Rating,” Valve said in the release notes for Counter-Strike 2.

“In Premier, players with a very high established CS Rating are not allowed to party with accounts that do not have an established CS Rating,” Valve added, revealing another anti-cheating tactic specifically for Counter-Strike 2’s hardcore competitive mode.

Valve has battled against Counter-Strike cheaters ever since its hugely popular first-person shooter went on sale. Indeed, Counter-Strike 2 had a cheating problem before it even came out. So it makes sense that Valve would want to lay down a marker now at launch.

Valve announced Counter-Strike 2 in March. Running on Source Engine 2, the same game engine used on other Valve games including Dota 2 and Half-Life: Alyx, Counter-Strike 2 replaces its predecessor on Steam, where it’s already shot through the 1.3 million concurrent players barrier.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.