What are the Overwatch requirements for CS2?

The anti-cheat problem is a major concern in Counter-Strike 2. Matchmaking is literally teeming with cheaters at all levels, making the gaming experience downright awful. In this article, we’ll share our first impressions of Overwatch in CS2.

How did it all start?

On the night of April 26th, the first update for CS2 in a long time was released. Dataminers discovered lines of code in it that indicated the addition of Overwatch and improvements to the VACNet anti-cheat system. Furthermore, in the patch notes, the developers stated that only trusted partners or community members would have access to Overwatch. This is a rather vague statement.

More than a week has passed, and no one is known to have access. Then, new lines of code were discovered indicating that Overwatch wasn’t ready yet and couldn’t be accessed by users. On April 27, a small wave of VAC bans occurred. Those who received the bans saw a global ban from Overwatch appear in the main menu. The question remains: how did people receive the Overwatch ban if it hadn’t yet been activated?

Meat grinder

A few days after the patch’s release, entire user lobbies began being banned. In a matter of seconds, 7, 8, 9, or even 10 accounts could be banned in a single match. Previously, a ban required a report from a live person in the same match, but now it happens automatically in real time. All such users have an Overwatch ban, which isn’t reflected in their Steam profile. So what’s going on?

Through research, Gabe Follower discovered that the bans weren’t related to any specific cheats. Only accounts using rage-based features were banned: aim, bunnyhop, rapid fire, and no spread. Players using less obvious cheats (wallhack, radarhack) weren’t banned. Therefore, it can be concluded that the bans are server-side, not client-side.

Dust in the eyes

The first wave of bans was likely a test, and after confirming there were no false positives, the developers turned on the lawnmower at full power. Even accounts that had played their last games before the Overwatch update were banned, so it had nothing to do with it. Another known fact: only users playing in Premier mode were banned. The developers were likely just throwing smoke and mirrors by adding the Overwatch patch note. Hidden bans don’t provide a full picture of what’s going on, and we’re left relying solely on conjecture.

Requirements to access Overwatch in CS2

Overwatch is currently unavailable to users in CS2 and is clearly still being finalized. So, it’s too early to talk about access requirements. However, we can recall the access requirements for CS:GO, as they will likely be similar:

• Have at least 300 hours played in Counter-Strike
• 150 wins in competitive mode
• Rank not lower than Gold Nova I
• Minimum violations
• Complete absence of VAC bans

The developers are actively collecting as much data as possible to train the neural network responsible for VAC Live. However, it’s too early to celebrate. Combating cheaters is a game of cat and mouse. It must be comprehensive: dozens of systems must operate in parallel or in concert. This isn’t easy to implement. Valve has a lot of work ahead.