Ex-Valve dev talks mental health amid CS2 problems

The Counter-Strike 2 community forums are flooded with complaints about bugs and performance problems, and an ex-developer has responded with how mentally taxing it can be to work on a game like CS2.

In the last decade, CS2 players have gotten used to Valve’s quiet and nonchalant attitude, which means small bugs usually get slipped under the rug. But when it comes to game-breaking glitches, players make a note of causing online havoc whether Valve responds or not. Recently, many players have been facing delay and desync issues in CS2, problems that have even caught the attention of pro players.

Community forums are overflowing with complaints, and despite Valve’s apparent indifference, ex-Valve employee Matt T. Wood has written a lengthy post that addresses CS2 dev problems.

Ex Valve employee talks about CS2 dev problems

Matt has spent more than 16 years working at Valve on many games, including CSGO, and has likely come across a litany of complaints. According to Matt, aggressive complaints with inappropriate language often stem from player frustration, possibly linked to poor mental health. This places stress on developers, which was also part of the reason he had to step away from his position as a CS2 developer.

He shared that, in his experience, engaging in conversations with toxic players who gave negative and aggressive feedback was often beneficial. It allowed him to understand that most of them were simply frustrated and wanted to be heard.

“What I mean is that we do a very poor job as a society when it comes to mental health support. And until it gets better, you’re going to continue to have a lot of gamers out there projecting their anger at the devs for smallest things,” said Wood.

He posted this message on his personal X account, which is now protected. However, his post on the CS2 forums has gained traction, with most players agreeing with him. According to the community, this is exactly the reason why CS2 needs a community manager, someone who could shut down rumors and maintain a clear line of communication with the fans. On the flip side, some argue that this would simply enable toxic players to vent all their frustrations, which are actually meant for Valve, on a community manager. It seems that there is no foolproof way to tackle the toxicity within the community, which can be detrimental and distressing for the developers.

Unless players are willing to communicate their feelings and feedback constructively, even a community manager focused on open communication won’t be effective in tackling CS2 dev problems or player concerns.