The core of the change is the alleviation of the ban on some CS: GO accounts, no longer barring the banned accounts from official Valve events. Banned accounts bearing the block for over 5 years have seen clemency with the new changes, though the official blog post does stipulate that any account with a VAC ban received after their first participation in a Valve-sponsored event will not see forgiveness. This slams the door for some high-profile CS: GO players __ with years-old b

While Vargas has been cleared, the lawsuit does bring back to the fore some of the shadier practices in the CS:GO scene. The entire gambling economy continues unabated, and while direct links between streamers and gambling websites for the game seem to have dropped off, the practice is ethically questionable. CS:GO also has a history of cheaters in its top ranks , with a number of big names banned over the ye

Twitch continues its streak of cracking down on streamers who violate their community guidelines, this time dropping visit the site hammer on one of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 's popular players. Unlike the platform's recent DMCA-inspired content culling, "aggression" earned this streamer his fourth temporary

Steam updated its guidelines for users to add more restrictions regarding online gambling, leaving the future of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin gambling uncertain a few months before the release of its highly anticipated sequel Counter-Strike 2 . These guidelines, gathered under the name "Steam Online Conduct," describes the activities Steam users cannot perform on Valve’s platform, such as posting illegal or inappropriate content, engaging in unlawful activities, or harassing other users. The update to this policy impacts Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players, who are now unsure of the future of their skin gambling activit

One community-made Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map is seemingly offering Russians an alternative view of the war in Ukraine. While Valve's Counter-Strike has been among the most popular live-service titles to date, the game is currently seeing a notable uptick in interest thanks to the recent reveal that Counter-Strike 2 is officially in the works . Now, it appears one community is looking to leverage this popularity to shed light on the situation in Ukra

The map creator, ZelezoBeton, notes that the map is not a perfect, 1:1 replica, but a specific transformation made with CS:GO in mind. The map requires the Trouble in Terrorist Town plugin to run, which is an alternate game mode where terrorist forces have secret traitors seeded in their ranks. Despite this requirement, the map supports the standard, classic multiplayer modes as well as other custom modes. The map will likely never be featured in official competitive play, but it seems to stack up solidly against CS:GO 's official roster of ma

Vargas made a name for himself streaming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive , and in particular CS:GO gambling, where players can bet in-game skins on professional matches or on games of chance (like using a roulette wheel). Certain skins in CS:GO are limited-time items, and as such have a high value on secondary marketplaces, and diving into the seedy underbelly of CS:GO can lead to dark places. Allegations of match fixing in CS:GO are rampant, and with so much money on the line with folks wagering skins, some are getting very rich off the whole pract

With millions of viewers and thousands upon thousands of streamers, Twitch's prominent place online makes it a target for lawsuits, with the streaming site facing a lawsuit last summer regarding "scantily clad" female streamers . For Vargas, it seems the impetus for the lawsuit was in clearing his name, after being forced off the platform unceremoniously and without any actual evidence of wrongdo

Skin gambling has been a regular activity for CS:GO fans , allowing them to bet on their cosmetics in hopes of winning better ones. Various platforms offer these services, with players placing bets on professional matches or joining lotteries using their in-game cosmetics as currency. Valve previously launched legal action against gambling sites that demanded access to the Steam API, automatically loading the users’ inventory to ease the betting process. However, since all CS:GO skin gambling websites don’t use this Steam API, players could still bet on their cosmetics if they wanted

The era of CS:GO skin gambling may be coming to an end as Steam updated its Online Conduct policy to prevent users from engaging in this type of activity. More specifically, the latest update to this policy states that Steam users shall not engage in commercial activities such as running contests, buying or selling Steam accounts, posting advertisements, or gambling. This last element is the most crucial one for Counter-Strike players , as it explicitly states that the action of gambling skins is now frowned upon by St