Prominent esports journalist Richard Lewis recently discovered an exploit that likely causedCounter-Strike: Global Offensiveplayers major worry. The glitch allowed players to ignore the effects of blinding smoke grenades, which had huge implications for the competitive nature of the game. However, it looks like Valve has recently issued a patch for this.
Lewis took to his YouTube channel to letCS:GOplayers know about the exploit, which he called “game breaking.” He says a colleague sent him the info and he tested it out himself and found it “unbelievably easy to do,” which is concerning to anyone who enjoys thetactical challenge ofCS:GO. The glitch completely removed smoke unless the player was in the middle of it, and it didn’t trigger VAC (Valve anti-cheat): a worrying combination.
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In the video, Lewis played a clip of someone throwing a smoke that did not release the usual cloud of gas when the utility popped. The sound queue and shockwave operated as normal, but the most important part of the grenade, obstructing sight lines, didn’t happen. Lewis says he alerted Valve, and one day after posting the video, he pinned a comment alerting viewers that Valve patched the exploit and that players can no longer use it. This should come as good news to therecent new waves ofCS:GOplayers.
While he didn’t reveal on the video how to do the exploit, Lewis did mention multiple times that it was incredibly easy. It’s especially concerning that it wasn’t detectable byVAC, which is usually very harsh on cheaters. VAC is one of the usual first lines of defense againstCS:GOcheaters, so anything that gets around VAC is even trickier to handle.
Several people commented on Lewis’s video about how important this issue was, thanking him for bringing it to light. One person claimed that r/globaloffensive deleted the video when someone shared it to the sub. Another user pointed out that molly and smoke interactions revealing players' outlines were also an issue that needs addressing, but other people expressed doubt that Valve would address this and that the game might even be “phased out” soon. The fate ofCS:GOis currently up in the air, with aswitch to the Source 2 enginethat may or may not happen.
Whether or not Valve does revitalizeCS:GO, it’s good to see exploits like this out in the open so players know to watch out for them, and developers can be pressured into fixing them. TheCS:GOcommunity generally takes astrong stance against cheaters, and many players promote the sharing of game breaking bugs and exploits to help make the game better for everyone.
