What's Happening with CS2 and FACEIT in Russia on September 2, 2025

What's Happening with CS2 and FACEIT in Russia on September 2, 2025

Current Status (as of September 2, 2025)

Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) remains operational in Russia, but players occasionally experience disruptions. These issues include login errors, prolonged matchmaking times, and trouble accessing FACEIT—a third-party matchmaking platform—which appear unrelated to Valve or Steam but instead stem from external factors.

Downdetector reports indicate these disruptions are localized, likely tied to outages in foreign internet providers rather than any systemic or government-led shutdown.

Background: Roskomnadzor and Steam Community

Earlier this year, Roskomnadzor (Russia’s federal media regulator) flagged and briefly blocked a Steam Community page over content concerns. However, once the content was removed, it was swiftly delisted from the registry. The regulator later acknowledged that all problematic content had been removed—leading to no further restrictions—for both Steam and CS2.

On February 21, 2025, Roskomnadzor confirmed the deletion of prohibited materials, including the erotic game Desert Stalker, and stated there were no grounds for banning Valve’s services in Russia.

Deputy Anton Gorelkin commented:

“Once again, Steam demonstrates a readiness to comply with RKN’s directives and adhere to Russian legislation. And yet, those perpetuating fears that regulation will inevitably result in bans choose to ignore such examples.”

Why CS2 Might Glitch in Russia

Multiple issues contribute to CS2 disruptions:

ISP disruptions impacting access to international services.

Sanctions since 2022 that complicate payments—Visa and Mastercard are often not accepted, making alternative payment methods unstable.

Global CS2 bugs resulting from updates or patch errors that can affect players worldwide. Valve typically fixes these within hours.

FACEIT Availability Issues

FACEIT’s disruptions are most likely due to Russian restrictions on foreign hosting. Under 2023’s Federal Law No. 406‑FZ, foreign hosting providers must meet local security and cooperation standards. Those not listed in Roskomnadzor’s “white list” face increased risk of blocking. Notably, in March 2025, entire services, including FACEIT, League of Legends, Discord, and others, were temporarily affected due to a short-lived Cloudflare block.

Will CS2 or Steam Be Banned?

As of now, there are no plans to ban CS2 or Steam. A 2024 draft law proposed mandatory content ratings, but by May 2025, Roskomnadzor signaled a more reconciliatory stance—Steam had removed approximately 250 prohibited items, and both the regulator and the State Duma indicated no intention to ban the platform.

Additional Verified Updates & Quotes

1. Recent Server and Performance Issues

On August 28, 2025, Downdetector registered widespread complaints globally: players reported login failures, difficulty finding matches, and issues accessing demos. Russian regions affected included Omsk, Astrakhan, Yaroslavl, Yamalo-Nenets, and Karelia. Valve’s official Steam and CS2 servers, however, remained stable according to steamstat.us.

2. CS2 Animation and Gameplay Bugs

The July 29, 2025, update to CS2 introduced sweeping changes through the new AnimGraph2 system. Users experienced animation bugs—such as glitchy weapon handling, ‘fist strikes,’ and broken bunny-hopping mechanics. These changes sparked strong reactions from the community, who noted that the overhaul had significantly altered gameplay feel.

Separately, on September 1, 2025, streamer PSP1G revealed a critical bug that allowed abnormal acceleration (using custom console bindings)—a vulnerability that affected gameplay on both FACEIT and Valve servers and could result in bans if exploited.

3. Trade-Protected Feature Alters Market

On July 16, 2025, CS2 introduced the Trade Protected system, enabling users to revert trades within seven days. While many skins dropped in value due to this added safety net, some remained stable or even increased in price, defying the anticipated downward trend.

4. Match-Fixing Ban of Russian Pro Player

Erkhan “gokushima” Bagynanov, a Russian CS2 pro, was banned by the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) for two years (until March 26, 2026) following admissions and evidence of match-fixing and betting violations. Reports suggest he fixed as many as 80 matches and earned up to $300K–$400K from these actions