Since April 23, more than a thousand players have received a permanent ban on the FACEIT competitive gaming platform for using the same cheat. It all started when a Polish YouTube user under the nickname Mefju23 released a video with instructions on how to exploit a vulnerability in the game. By editing one of the settings files, it was possible to increase the volume of other players' footsteps and thus learn in advance about the enemy's approach. This opportunity appeared after the release of the latest CS:GO update. The Youtuber warned viewers that they modify game files at their own risk.
The first wave of bans took place on April 23-24 and affected about four hundred accounts of users who tried to exploit the vulnerability. Several hundred more players were subsequently banned, bringing the total number of bans to over a thousand. Mefju23 removed the clips and issued a public apology on social media. However, he believes that a permanent ban – is too harsh a punishment for those who used this modification. From his perspective, it's unfair to penalize tricks with sound as harshly as cheats that really ruin the game for others. The Youtuber hopes that FACEIT can later commute the punishment for the offending players.
