Valve’s Steam has a lot going for it, and as big as the platform has become, it still does fail to deliver content at times. If you see an error message while playing CSGO or any other game, which reads: “VAC was unable to verify your game session” or “Matchmaking Failed”, don’t worry; you haven’t been banned.

CSGO is one of the most popular FPS titles ever to grace the PC gaming space. While the game has evolved over the years into a very stable, well-optimised software, it depends on Steam for its social aspects.

Valve has put a lot of work into making Steam as hassle-free an experience as there is, but there are still occasional bugs here and there. VAC is Valve’s proprietary anti-cheat software which verifies you’re not running any cheats when you join a match in CSGO. If VAC isn’t able to verify your installation of CS, you’re going to be able to play the game at all.

In this article, we’ve listed six ways you can fix the ‘VAC was unable to verify your game session’ error.

Also read: CSGO Ranks: Everything you need to know

Verify Game Files

Corrupted game files can often lead to issues like this, not just in CSGO, but in other games as well.

Luckily, Steam has a built-in feature that verifies your game files and reinstalls any files that might be damaged. Follow these steps.

Step 1: Head over to your Steam Library, right-click on CSGO and select Properties.

How to fix the 'VAC was unable to verify your game session' error?

Step 2: Head over to the Local Files tab.

Step 3: Click on Verify integrity of local files… and let Steam do its thing. The VAC was unable to verify your game session issue should be fixed.

However, if it isn’t, follow the steps mentioned below.

Restart your Steam client

One of the simplest ways to resolve a majority of issues with Steam is to simply restart the client. While you may have restarted CSGO itself, restarting the Steam client can fix a bunch of seemingly random issues. Follow the steps mentioned below to restart the Steam client completely.

Step 1: Log out of Steam by clicking on your profile name at the top-right, followed by Log out of account.

Step 2: Then right click on the Steam icon in the toolbar and click on Exit. Then start Steam as you normally would.

Also read: Acrylic vs Tempered Glass: Which one makes a better PC case?

Repair Steam service

The VAC was unable to verify your game session error can also be caused due to an issue with the Steam service, which is stopping it from working efficiently. Follow the steps mentioned below to repair the Steam service.

Step 1: Right-click on the Steam icon in the toolbar and click on Exit.

Step 2: Use Windows Key + R shortcut key or search for Run using the search bar in the taskbar.

Step 3: On the Run prompt, type C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\bin\Steamservice.exe and click on the OK button.

If you’ve Steam installed in some other path on your PC, replace C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam with the correct path.

Note that you’ll require Administrator privileges to run this command.

A terminal will pop-up; let the system command do its thing and then try running Steam again and see if this fixes the issue.

Reinstall the game

If none of the steps above work, the only sure-shot way of resolving just about every error with your game is to reinstall the game itself. Here’s how.

Step 1:Head over to your Steam Library, right-click on CSGO hover over Manage. You’ll see the option to uninstall the game. Click on it to proceed.

Step 2: Head over to the Steam Store and download CSGO as you would any other game.

Also read: What is the most expensive CSGO skin ever sold?

Restart your PC

This step should be on the top of your troubleshooting list. Restarting your PC can fix a bunch of seemingly random issues, including VAC not being able to verify your CSGO session.

Disable the following software

According to Valv e, the following software can also cause VAC disconnection error. If you’re running any of them, consider disabling them and trying to play the game again and see if it fixes the VAC was unable to verify your game session error.

CCleaner
Powershell
Sandboxie

Cheat Engine
IObit Start Menu 8
Process Hacker

DLL injectors
Hypervisors
Steam idlers

How to fix the ‘VAC was unable to verify your game session’ error?