Valve is asking CSGO players to help catch boosters and cheaters

Valve has publicly asked for the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive community’s help in catching matchmaking abusers.

The public statement comes just after a massive ban wave that purged over 10,000 accounts from public matchmaking. Informal updates from Valve are rare, so this announcement could indicate that boosted accounts are still a pervasive issue in CSGO. The recent changes to Prime status have brought sweeping effects that Valve hopes will curb matchmaking abuse.

As the bans started rolling out on June 4, users on social media discussed the latest ban wave. Responses varied from positive feedback to theories on how so many accounts were actually boosted. Senior Valve software engineer John McDonald posted a response on a Reddit thread regarding the wave.

“Send more reports of botting players or matches you encounter our way at csgoteamfeedback at valvesoftware dot com(sic) with the subject ‘bot accounts’. Thanks!” McDonald said. 

Valve continues fight against CSGO boosting

The comment could reveal that community reports are a significant tool in finding those who participate in CSGO account boosting. Other users in the thread claimed that boosted accounts they had previously reported were banned in the wave. While Valve’s system is completely unknown outside of the company, their system likely relies on a combination of user reports and data analysis.

McDonald’s statement is very brief, but even a short public response from a Valve employee is rare. The company has openly adopted a “show, don’t tell” protocol when it comes to their games. Valve’s distinct approach extends to their esports circuits for both CSGO and Dota 2. 

But this isn’t the first time a Valve employee has posted on one of their games’ subreddit. McDonald himself has posted several comments and threads on software updates and technical support. 

The most famous Reddit post from a Valve employee came from the company’s co-founder and president, Gabe Newell. In a 2016 Dota 2 post called “Update from the Shanghai Major,”  Newell famously referred to Dota 2 personality James Harding as an “ass” who wouldn’t be working with the company again. This post came in the middle of The Shanghai Major, which is often considered the worst Valve esports event of all time.