As expected, the launch of Counter-Strike 2 on Sept. 27 introduced a bunch of changes to the game, including new settings, store, a refreshed community server browser, and more. But one change is a key update to battling cheating in CS2.
One of the most-significant changes added to CS2 on Sept. 27 is the matchmaking update. From now on, when one or more party members are caught cheating in the game, their “associates will be penalized with loss of Profile Rank and CS Rating.” Additionally, to prevent cheating, “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,” the patch notes read.
It’s unclear what “associates” means in these terms, but we believe these are players who regularly queue with cheaters, and therefore use their aid to earn matchmaking ranking.
In the limited beta, players pointed out how many top individuals in different leaderboards were caught queuing with ones who were undoubtedly cheating. Introducing this change should help Valve developers battle hackers, at least partially.
Plenty of players are underlining this change as the biggest one so far in the latest patch notes. They all share the same sentiment—it’s a good step to making CS2 cheaters-free, or at least in trying to do so.
Although with so many tweaks to CS2 with its full release, players have been also focusing on other aspects of the game. CS:GO’s legend s1mple criticized the game for its poor tick rate performance, but other players have praised it so far.
