Can you play Counter-Strike 2 if you were banned in CS:GO?

Valve’s recent announcement of the impending arrival of Counter-Strike 2 was an immediate game-changer in the FPS market, with fans old and new eagerly awaiting the arrival of the next entry in a franchise with over 20 years of history.

Many aspects of the gameplay will be revamped and overhauled in this new version, but some things will stay the same. Cheaters and otherwise banned CS:GO players are still not welcome on the official CS2 servers.

Do your bans carry over to CS2?

The short answer is yes. According to Valve’s FAQ about the ongoing CS2 limited test, VAC and game bans will carry over between the two versions. Therefore, the new version won’t serve as a respite to those who have already run afoul of the rules at some point in the past.

For a while, CS:GO and CS2 will coexist until the latter’s official launch, but this is not going to be the case for long. Even during that period, the existing bans will remain in full effect across the two titles, meaning you won’t be able to play on VAC-secured servers in CS2 if you cheated in CS:GO.

Related: When does the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test end?

The same system applies in the case of competitive cooldowns as well: if you are temporarily blocked from playing matchmaking in CS:GO, you can’t just hop over to CS2 in the meantime—and the same holds true the other way around. Of course, this won’t be a concern once CS2 fully launches as a free upgrade to CS:GO, superseding the old version. But in the meantime, those invited to the limited playtest better make sure they don’t get on Valve’s naughty list.