How to Fix: VAC was Unable to Verify your Game Session on CS:GO

If you’re a CS:GO player, then there’s a good chance that you’ve seen the following error before, “Vac Unable to Verify your Game Session.” In this guide, we’re going to cover exactly what this issue means for you and how to fix it. Don’t worry. It doesn’t mean that you’ve done irreparable damage to the game, but it does mean that you need to put in some work to get it fixed so you can play again.

• Solution 1 – Verify Game Files Integrity and Restart PC
• Solution 2 – Repair the Steam Service
• Solution 3 – Exclude CS:GO’s Directory From Anti-Virus Scans
• Solution 4 – Turn off Steam Beta
• Solution 5 – Update Your Computer
• Solution 6 – Reinstall CS:GO

What does it mean when VAC was unable to verify your game session?

When you get this message in CS:GO, it means that there are integrity issues with your game files. VAC stands for Valve Anti-Cheap System, which is employed in several games, including CS:GO. It’s designed to protect users from those who may be using cheat codes or hacks to improve their chances of winning.

For some users who are genuinely using those hacks or codes, this error could mean that you have been VAC banned. That means that this anti-cheat system has banned you from CS:GO, and you won’t be able to play online with others anymore.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Sometimes this system has an error. In fact, the error pops up so often that it’s commonplace among players. Luckily, there are a few ways in which to fix it.

VAC was Unable to Verify your Game Session Fixing Options

Here we’re going to work our way through each potential solution. Scroll through until you find one that you like the sounds of. Please note that all of them will work to help you though.

Solution 1 – Verify Game Files Integrity and Restart PC

• Open your Steam Library
• Right click on CS:GO and select Properties
• Open the Local Files tab
• Click on the Verify Integrity of Game Files Option
• Restart your computer

For this fix, you’re going to need to open up your Steam client and go to your Library. Now you need to locate Counter Strike: Global Offensive from your Library and right-click on it. From the menu that appears, you want to click on the ‘Properties‘ option.

Clicking this option is going to open up a new window in Steam. There are tabs across the top, each one with a different name. The one you want to click on is called ‘Local Files.’

Once you’ve clicked on Local Files, you’ll be presented with a screen that shows even more options. Don’t panic. You’re only clicking on one of these. On the left-hand side of the screen is a list of buttons. The button you need to press is labeled ‘Verify Integrity of Game Files.’

Click on this button and wait for the verification process to complete. This may take some time. Steam will notify you when the process has been completed. Before starting the game back up again though, you must restart your PC.

This last step is important. If you don’t restart your PC, all of the work you’ve just done will be lost. Your computer won’t take any longer to restart than usual, so take the time now to do things properly.

Solution 2 – Repair the Steam Service

• Close Steam
• Open the command console
• Enter our script
• Try loading a match in CS:GO again

The option that Valve recommends is this one, to repair the Steam Service. This is a simple process that you’ll be able to do quickly and easily.

First, close Steam down. Closing the window isn’t enough. You need to exit the program completely. This can be done using finding Steam in your taskbar, right-clicking on it, and selecting the ‘Quit‘ option. This will completely close Steam down on your computer, regardless of why you need to do it.

You might also need to open the Task Manager and click ‘End Task‘ on Steam if it won’t fully close. On macOS you’ll need to use the ‘Force Quit‘ function instead.

Now you need to open your command console. this can be done by opening the search bar on your computer and typing in ‘Run.’ Select the command console and type in the following script.

“C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\bin\SteamService.exe” /repair

Now press ‘Enter,’ and you should see an empty terminal popup on your screen. Don’t do anything at this point. This is still a part of the fix, and if you interfere, you could cause a lot of damage to your computer’s systems. Instead, wait for the box to close itself, and Steam should re-launch afterwards by itself.

At this point, your issue should be fixed. Try opening the game and entering a match. If the issue persists, you’ll need to try one of the other solutions listed on this page.

Solution 3 – Exclude CS:GO’s Directory From Anti-Virus Scans

Anti-virus software can cause all sorts of issues with games. While most today recognize that game files aren’t malicious, there are still plenty that could create some issues for you. It’s always worth checking to see if your anti-virus software is the problem, so open it up and exclude the game files for CS:GO from being scanned. Regardless of whether the software says that the files are safe or not, they could be making Steam think that you’re cheating somehow. Once you’ve excluded the files, restart your computer and try joining a game again.

Solution 4 – Turn off Steam Beta

This is another niche issue that some users have reported, but it’s a valid fix for the “VAC unable to verify your game session” error as well. Luckily, it’s a straightforward fix if this is the issue.

All you need to do is open Steam, and then go to the Steam Settings tab. Now, click on your account page on the left-hand side of the screen. There should be a ‘Change‘ button underneath the ‘Steam Beta Participation‘ section. Click this and select ‘NONE – Opt out of all Beta Programs.” Now all you need to do is click “OK” and your settings will be saved.

Just for good measure, restart your computer after doing this. Then try to get into another game in CS:GO and see if the VAC issue persists.

Solution 5 – Update Your Computer

This solution may seem like an obvious one, but new updates are launched every day, and not everyone picks up on them. You might have set your computer to automatically download all updates overnight. However, you can still easily find yourself in the position of running games on an outdated version of Windows or macOS.

Checking for updates is easy. On macOS, there’s a dedicated section for it in the App Store. You can open it and check for updates at any time. If you see an operating system update that needs to be installed, you should quit everything else you’re doing and update it immediately.

On Windows, you can check for an update by searching for updates in the taskbar. From there, you can open up the update center and click on ‘Check for Updates.’ This will cause your computer to check with Microsoft for any possible updates. You’ll then be told about those available updates and given the option to download them.

Ensure that you check that all of your Drivers are up to date whilst you’re updating your computer as well. Often it’s the Drivers that will cause issues more so than the operating system. These will appear in the same locations as your general updates on your computer, so pay attention to any Driver updates that are required.

Regardless of whether you’re updating Windows or macOS, you’ll need to restart your computer once the update has been installed. After the restart is complete, try opening CS:GO and joining a game again to see if the error has been fixed. If not, move onto the final solution in this list.

Solution 6 – Reinstall CS:GO

Reinstalling CS:GO is almost guaranteed to work because you’ll be removing the game’s files entirely before installing it again as a fresh game.

The process of reinstalling CS:GO is also one of the easiest solutions on this list too. All you need to do is open up your Steam Library and right-click on CS:GO. Within the options that open up, you’ll see ‘Uninstall,’ which you need to click.

A new popup window will appear, asking you to confirm the fact that you want to delete the game. Click on the ‘Delete‘ option and wait for the game to be removed from your Steam Library. You’ll know that it’s gone because the game’s name will be dull, like every other game you’ve yet to install in your Steam Library.

If the game’s name text is bright white or blue, wait for it to turn dull before you do anything else.

When the game has successfully uninstalled, it’s time to reinstall it. You can do this by selecting it from your Steam Library and clicking on the ‘Install’ button that will appear on the screen’s right-hand side.

Once you have reinstalled the game, the “VAC unable to verify your game session” error should be gone.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, there are many reasons that you might get this error in CS:GO. The best thing to do is to stay calm and follow our potential list of solutions from top to bottom. While one may not work for you, you should find one that works for you by working through them individually.

Once you’re back in the game, you’re going to want to catch up on all those missed matches, which will leave you with a lot of in-game cash to spend. Check out the best CS:GO Skins on our site, so you know where to spend your hard-earned money.