Valve's New Anti-Cheat System in Deadlock Turns Cheaters into Frogs, CS Dev Reveals Origins

In a recent update to Valve's latest game, Deadlock, a unique and amusing anti-cheat system has been introduced, adding a twist to how cheaters are punished. Rather than just banning players, this update offers players the choice to either ban the cheater immediately or transform them into a frog for the rest of the match, before banning them after the match. While the results of the match don’t count for other players if this happens, it certainly makes for a memorable and fun experience.

The system is currently set to conservative detection levels, but Valve is already working on a more extensive version 2 for the future. In a few days, they’ll also enable immediate banning of players after detection, promising a more robust response to cheaters.

Interestingly, this feature didn’t start with Deadlock. In a tweet, former Counter-Strike developer BurtonJ (@sptonjohn on X) revealed that a similar concept had been designed for CS years ago. The "FU Surprise Mode," as it was internally known, would turn cheaters into chickens instead of frogs. Although this feature was never released for Counter-Strike, its resurrection in Deadlock brings a fun and unexpected link between the two Valve titles.

The idea of humiliating cheaters rather than outright banning them has long been discussed in the gaming community, and Valve’s execution in Deadlock delivers both a functional and humorous solution. While the update is specifically for Deadlock, fans of Counter-Strike might wonder if such whimsical punishments could ever make their way into other Valve games in the future.