Normal players sometimes complain about the special treatment of large Twitch-streamers who seem not to be subject to the rules. Not so with Valve, the operators of CS:GO (Steam): even one of the largest content creators in the world receives a lifetime ban if he does not adhere to the rules.
What kind of streamer is this? Raúl “Auronplay” Àlvarez Genes is a Spanish content creator and is among the largest Twitch-streamers worldwide. More than 15 million people follow him on the streaming platform – only Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has more followers.
Auronplay is therefore a big name. Nevertheless, the streamer does not receive special treatment from Valve: As he shared now, he received a lifetime ban in CS:GO for using cheats.
Auronplay: “I was bored”
Why is this a topic? The Counter-Strike franchise is currently experiencing a hype, after the announcement of Counter-Strike 2 in March 2023, the first new entry in the series since 2012.
Some selected players and content creators already have access to the beta, but the predecessor Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is also experiencing a resurgence. The prices for skins are skyrocketing and German streamers are discovering the game for themselves – even if some only get to the loot boxes.
What is the deal with the ban? Although Auronplay is not one of the lucky ones with a beta key, he confirmed in a recent stream his interest in showing the game. The only problem is: the streamer’s account is permanently banned.
In a recent stream, he revealed that he received the ban while messing around with cheats for fun:
I am banned. […] I used cheats for fun. Just for fun, yes. One afternoon I was bored, I got caught and banned. I can no longer play Counter-Strike for life.
Auronplay via 3D Juegos
Streamer exploits loophole
What is special about it? A VAC ban is a ban by Valve’s anti-cheat system. These bans are feared because they are “final and non-negotiable,” according to Steam, and cannot be overturned by Steam Support.
If a player receives such a ban in CS:GO, he also loses access to the skins acquired with this account. Although Counter-Strike 2 is treated like a new game, it is actually just a major update. This means that VAC bans from CS:GO are carried over.
Can’t the streamer show Counter-Strike 2? Yes, just not through his main account on Steam. Auronplay confirmed that he has already played CS:GO on an alternate account and will use this account for Counter-Strike 2 when he gets access.
As long as he had no valuable skins on his account, the ban probably hasn’t hit the streamer too hard. Nevertheless, it is refreshing to see that Valve makes no exceptions for large content creators as well – in contrast to certain other developers.
