Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is a popular multiplayer first-person shooter game developed by Valve Corporation. Like many other online games, CS:GO uses the Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) system to ensure fair play and maintain a competitive environment. VAC prevents cheaters from modifying the game's code or exploiting bugs and glitches. However, legitimate players may encounter the VAC was unable to verify your game session error. The error can be frustrating because it prevents you from joining matches.
The VAC was unable to verify your game session error in CS:GO is a common issue due to various factors. This error message typically appears when the Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) system fails to authenticate your game session, which may prevent you from joining VAC-secured servers.
How the Valve Anti-Cheat system works
Valve Anti-Cheat is an anti-cheat system developed to protect the game from cheaters and hackers. The VAC system automatically scans for cheats installed on users' computers and prevents players from connecting to VAC-secured servers if it detects unauthorised software.
The VAC system compares the digital signature of the files in your game directory to the list of approved files in Valve's databases. If the system finds any discrepancies, the VAC may be unable to verify your game session.
What causes the VAC verification game session error?
When you notice that VAC was unable to verify your game session after verifying, several things might explain why you experienced this error. The reasons include:
Incompatible software
The error can occur when running incompatible software. In other words, running unauthorised third-party software, such as cheats, trainers, or mods, can trigger the VAC system and cause the error message to appear.
Corrupt files
Corrupted or missing game files can also cause the VAC system to fail to verify your game session.
Outdated game version
Playing an outdated version of CS:GO can also result in an error message.
Interference from other software
Most software programs on your computer may cause this error. For example, Antivirus software, firewalls, or other security tools may interfere with the VAC system and cause the error.
Hardware or software conflicts
Conflicts between hardware or software components on your computer can also trigger the error message. For example, conflicts in hardware drivers, especially for the graphics card and network adapter, may cause this error.
Tampered game files
Sometimes, tampered game files may cause the VAC system to fail to verify your game session.
What to do when VAC is unable to verify game session
When VAC cannot verify your game session, you can fix this problem by determining what caused it. Here is how to fix VAC authentication error:
Update your game
Make sure you have the latest version of CS:GO. You can check for updates by launching the game and looking for any available updates in the Steam client. Alternatively:
- Launch the Steam client.
- Navigate to the Library tab.
- Right-click on CS:GO.
- Select Properties.
- Go to the Updates tab.
- Ensure to enable the Automatic Updates option.
- If an update is available, download and install it.
Check your game files
Verifying the integrity of your game files once you encounter the error is helpful. Here is how to do it:
- Launch Steam.
- Right-click on CS:GO in your library.
- Select Properties.
- Clicking on the Local Files tab.
- Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
- Allow the system to scan for any corrupted or missing files. If any missing or corrupted files are found, the game will automatically repair them.
Disable third-party software
Most players use different third-party software to play CS:GO. Therefore, turn off any third-party software that may interfere with the VAC system, such as cheats, trainers, or mods. Also, consider turning off any overlays, such as the Steam or Discord Overlay. These can also interfere with VAC verification and trigger the error message.
Also, close all unnecessary background applications that may interfere with the game. If you are running virtualisation software, VPN, or proxy servers, disable them, as they could be the cause of the error.
Update your system
CS:GO runs well on the latest computer operating system version. Therefore, ensure that your operating system and all drivers are up-to-date. An updated OS can help resolve conflicts or compatibility issues causing the error message.
Besides your OS, consider updating your computer's drivers. Corrupted or outdated drivers, especially graphics card drivers, can cause this error.
Disable antivirus software
Antivirus software can cause the VAC to be unable to verify your game session error in different ways. First, antivirus programs have built-in systems that detect potentially malicious programs. Sometimes, these systems incorrectly identify VAC or its related files as threats, leading to this error.
Secondly, antivirus software often performs background scans to detect any malicious activity. While this helps protect your system, it can conflict with VAC's operation, triggering the error. Lastly, VAC performs system integrity checks to ensure fair gameplay.
Antivirus software may modify certain files or settings, which can interfere with these checks and result in this verification error. Therefore, temporarily turn off your antivirus software and firewall while playing CS:GO. It will help you determine whether your security software is the cause of the issue.
It will ensure that the VAC system can properly scan your computer for unauthorised software. Alternatively, configure your antivirus and firewall software to allow CS:GO and Steam access to the internet or add exceptions for CS:GO and Steam in your antivirus and firewall settings.
Check for conflicting software
If your computer has conflicting software components, these may interfere with the VAC system. Therefore, check on the software to see if you will solve the VAC was unable to verify your game session CS:GO problem. The software to check may include outdated drivers, applications, or background processes.
Reinstall the game
If none of the above solutions works, try uninstalling and reinstalling CS:GO. It will help resolve any issues with tampered game files.
Check for issues with the Steam client
Several issues with the Steam client can cause problems with your game sessions. For example, the Steam client may crash unexpectedly, preventing VAC from verifying your game sessions. Also, if Steam has network issues, this verification may fail.
You can try different things to fix this issue. For example, you can restart the Steam client, reinstall the Steam client, or contact Steam Support for further assistance.
Run the game as an administrator
You can also try running the game as an administrator to see if it fixes the problem. Do the following:
- Right-click the Steam icon on your computer.
- Select Run as administrator.
- Run the game in administrator mode as well.
Running the game as an administrator is necessary because it requires admin rights to enable features like online play and additional security.
Final word
When you encounter the VAC was unable to verify your game session error, first determine what might have caused the error. You can fix this issue in different ways, including updating the game, verifying the integrity of your game files, and turning off third-party software like cheats and mods.
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