What does Overwatch mean in CS2?
Highlights:
- Overwatch is an anti-cheat method where players review suspicious demo footage
- Players are selected based on factors like game time, skill, and in-game standing to become Overwatch Investigators
Overwatch has finally arrived in Counter-Strike 2, aiming to deal with cheaters and other naughty players with greater precision.
The feature, introduced first in CS:GO, allows certain designated players to review footage in-game that has been deemed suspicious and give their own opinion of the accused player in question.
What is Overwatch and how does it work?
Overwatch (sometimes also referred to as 'The Overwatch') is a player-driven anti-cheat feature that allows selected members of the Counter-Strike community to review footage of suspected cheaters or griefers and give their own verdict.
Click to enlargeThis feature was integrated into Global Offensive but has been disabled since around the time of CS2's first announcement. However, it has now finally been added back into Counter-Strike 2 with the 4/25/2024 update, giving players an added layer of confidence that any nefarious players will be dealt with.
Players will be selected to be an 'Investigator' based on a number of different factors, then a new case will become available to them. This will comprise a section of a match (typically around 10 minutes of demo footage) and then they will decide whether an offence has occurred at the end of the footage. If all selected investigators agree that an offence has occurred then the player will be banned.
How to become an Overwatch Investigator in CS2
While there are no Counter-Strike 2 specific instructions, it's likely to be the same system as before in CS:GO, where players were selected based on factors like competitive wins, account age, hours played, skill group, and their own account standing or trust factor.
There is no surefire way to 'grind' towards the Investigator role, but it appears that just playing as many Competitive or Premier matches as possible will put you in good standing overall. While your own skill is considered, it will not make or break your chances - which is great news for us lowly Silvers and Golds!
Furthermore, your status as an Investigator will be constantly scored and evaluated as you take on more cases. This ensures that case outcomes are as accurate as possible, as you'll always want the best and most experienced evaluators to be the deciding factor in cases.
Now that you're up to date with Overwatch, make sure to head over to our Counter-Strike homepage, where we've got the best crosshair codes to improve your aim, all of the knife commands, all of the best console commands, and the most expensive skins you can buy.
