CSGO introduced Prime status after it went Free to Play, back in December 2018. Existing users would get a free Prime status upgrade while new players had to either buy the Prime Status for $15 or grind up to Level 21 through XP to get the Prime Status upgrade for free.
But in June 2021, Valve decided to remove this and the only way to get Prime Status in CSGO would be by paying from the upgrade.
In the CSGO Prime update, Valve said “Ranked matchmaking has been restricted to Prime players only. However, Non-prime players will be able to enjoy every other game mode like Casual, Workshop maps, Deathmatch, or the newly implemented ‘Unranked’ mode.”
Now, reports have surfaced of Prime CSGO players being matched up with cheaters with Non prime CSGO accounts. This was thought to not be possible as non-prime players couldn’t play competitive ranked games until and unless they bought the prime status upgrade.
WHY ARE PRIME PLAYERS FACING NON PRIME ACCOUNTS?
It is well known that even Prime accounts with high steam levels and expensive inventories can be cheaters, so it isn’t too big of a leap to find out that a non-prime account may be cheating.
But non-prime accounts aren’t allowed to play regular ranked matchmaking so it begs the question why are Prime CSGO accounts facing non-prime cheaters.
The only possible explanation for this is that non-prime players are queueing up with prime players. Since prime players CAN play ranked MM, and if a non-prime player joins the party then it may be possible to queue for a CSGO matchmaking game.
This has become a headache as Prime CSGO players have to deal with Prime accounts hacking but now non-prime accounts have joined the fray too.