Nearly 1 Million Banned in Latest Valve VAC Wave

Nearly 1 Million Banned in Latest Valve VAC Wave

A CS2 developer has confirmed that nearly 1 million accounts have been banned in one of the largest VAC waves in recent memory. The bans were issued and carried out within a single day against confirmed farming bot accounts, marking it as one of the most monumental efforts by Valve to clean up their game’s ecosystem. 

VAC Wave Washes Out Almost 1 Million Bot Accounts

CS2 Dev Ido Magal has confirmed that during Valve’s latest efforts to target-ban farming bot accounts, at least 960,000 accounts have been banned. They attributed the immense success as a result of a series of investigations carried out by the team following user reports.  

Farming bot accounts refer to accounts utilizing scripts, which are designated to ‘farm’ drops in CS2 gamemodes (typically Deathmatch and Casual lobbies). The issues scale depending on the end goal, but there have been multiple reports for years with video evidence of entire bot farm lobbies dedicated to farming drops in CS2 and its predecessor CSGO.

Said farmed drops are then sold on either the Steam Market or one of the many free markets for CS items (skins, cases, sprays, etc). Stemming from Valve skins carrying actual monetary value (thanks to the ability to sell and transfer skins to other user accounts, pervasive issues such as bot farms continue to plague one of the most popular FPS titles even in 2026.

Don't forget to follow Strafe Esports for the latest news about your favorite esports and to check out our X account for the most recent content and coverage. Also, stay tuned to the Strafe YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and much more.

Featured Image Credit: Valve


Read More:

ESL Locks in IEM Krakow 2027, Announces Major Updates for Next Season

One Trophy, Six Contenders: The BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 Playoffs Are Here

New CS2 Update Changes Reload Mechanics Entirely

Latest news

CS2 Update Encrypts Global Chat to Curb Racism Leaderboard

CS2 Update Encrypts Global Chat to Curb Racism Leaderboard

CS2 update encrypts global chat in an attempt to remove access to the in-game chat from third-party websites.
10 Sep
Ganesh Jadhav

Team Spirit Dominate MOUZ to Win BLAST Open Porto 2026

The Super Bock Arena was set on fire as Team Spirit dominated MOUZ to win BLAST Open Porto 2026, securing back-to-back trophies.
6 Sep
Ganesh Jadhav

Team Spirit and MOUZ To Clash Again In BLAST Open Porto 2026 Grand Final

The stage is set in Porto for a spectacular conclusion to BLAST Open Porto 2026. With a massive $1,100,000 prize pool on the line, Team Spirit and MOUZ will face each other in yet another grand finals, a rematch of the BLAST Bounty Season 2 finals.
5 Sep
Kaustavmani Choudhury

Is CS2 Really Dying? Peak Player Count Drops to Lowest Point Since 2024

Counter-Strike 2 wrapped up August with a peak concurrent player count of 1,331,274, marking its lowest high-water mark since January 2024. The average concurrent count also settled at 825,257, continuing an uninterrupted slide across recent months. For a title that routinely rules the Steam charts, seeing server numbers cool off naturally turns heads across the competitive scene.
2 Sep
Thales Costa

BLAST Open Porto Playoffs: Teams, Bracket, Schedule, and More

The BLAST Open Porto playoffs will commence soon, with a single-elimination bracket featuring the six best teams. Here's everything to know about the tournament.
31 Aug
Adarsh J. Kumar

"I Have to Play My Own Game": jL’s Mindset for His Vitality Stand-In Run

The competitive Counter-Strike 2 scene is rarely static, but few announcements have sparked as much intrigue as Justinas "jL" Lekavičius stepping up to represent Team Vitality. The former Natus Vincere superstar and Major MVP has transitioned from his recent hiatus into the heart of one of esports’ most successful rosters.
28 Aug
Kaustavmani Choudhury

CS2 Tracker Exposes In-Game Chat History, Raising Privacy Concerns

Counter-Strike 2 has always had a reputation for intense competitive play and energetic in-game communication. However, a third-party analytics website called cstracker.gg has introduced a feature that exposes everything players type in match all chat to the public eye.
28 Aug
Thales Costa
1

Comments (0)

Log in to comment on this match