Valve has announced that it is reversing the VAC bans for Counter-Strike 2 players who were affected by the AMD Anti-Lag+ feature, which was introduced in the latest AMD Adrenalin GPU driver (23.10.1). The feature, which is designed to reduce the latency between the hardware and the game, was causing false positives in the Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) system, as it was modifying the game’s DLL files. Valve has also added a startup check for incompatible AMD graphics drivers, to prevent further issues.
AMD Anti-Lag+ Feature Causes False VAC Bans in CS2
AMD Anti-Lag+ is a new technology that aims to improve the gaming experience by reducing the input lag, which is the delay between the user’s actions and the game’s response. According to AMD, Anti-Lag+ can reduce the input lag by up to 50% in some games, compared to the standard Anti-Lag feature. However, the feature also has some drawbacks, as it requires modifying the game’s executable files, which can trigger anti-cheat systems.
This is what happened with Counter-Strike 2, one of the most popular multiplayer shooters in the world. The game uses Valve’s own VAC system, which detects and bans players who use cheats or hacks to gain an unfair advantage. However, VAC also detected AMD’s Anti-Lag+ feature as a form of tampering with the game code, and banned thousands of players who enabled it.
Valve Warns CS2 Players Not to Use AMD Anti-Lag+, AMD Disables It
As soon as Valve became aware of the issue, it warned CS2 players not to use AMD’s Anti-Lag+ feature, as it would result in a permanent VAC ban. Valve also said that it would work on identifying and reversing the bans for affected players, once AMD shipped an update to fix the problem.
AMD responded quickly by releasing a new driver update (23.10.2), which disabled Anti-Lag+ for all supported games, including CS2. AMD also apologized for any inconvenience caused by the feature, and said that it would work with developers and publishers to ensure compatibility and support for Anti-Lag+ in future games.
Valve Reverses VAC Bans for Affected CS2 Players, Adds Driver Check
In the latest patch notes for CS2, Valve announced that it has started reversing VAC bans for affected players, and that it has added a startup check for incompatible AMD graphics drivers. The check will prevent players from launching CS2 if they have an older version of AMD’s driver that still has Anti-Lag+ enabled. Valve also advised players to update their drivers to the latest version before playing CS2.
The reversal of VAC bans is good news for CS2 players who were unfairly banned for using AMD’s feature, as they can now resume playing on VAC-secured servers and access their inventories and skins. However, some players have complained that they still have game bans on their accounts, which are different from VAC bans and are issued by third-party services or developers. Valve has not commented on whether it will reverse game bans as well.
