Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Trusted Mode update blocks OBS from capturing gameplay. Our guide walks you through two ways to work around Trusted Mode that will have you recording or streaming your gameplay again in minutes!
In July 2020, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) developers released an update implementing “Trusted Mode.” The feature, enabled by default, restricts third-party files from interacting with the game. Trusted Mode acts as a barrier of entry for those using potentially harmful software while running the game.
According to Valve, “even benign applications are often a vector for cheats that hijack them to cheat.” For this reason, the developers have decided not to safelist any application that interferes with CS:GO. As a result, it’s been relatively common for secure software to be blocked by CS:GO. For example, OBS, a popular streaming and recording software, is blocked by Trusted Mode. Therefore, content creators and streamers are unable to capture their gameplay using OBS.
While Valve doesn’t plan on making it easier for content creators to use OBS and CS:GO, there are several relatively easy workarounds you can use to make sure you capture all of your great gameplay.
The standard method cheaters use in CS:GO is called “injection.” An injection is a process by which an application interacts with the game. More often than not, cheat programs make use of the injection process. Rather than building a system that identifies cheat injections, Trusted Mode’s goal is to prevent players from injecting at all.
Trusted Mode gives players peace of mind by guaranteeing they do not accidentally run software that injects into the game. Additionally, it makes sure that players purposely injecting into the game are rejected. Players who are on the latter end of the spectrum are subject to a VAC ban.
There are no detrimental risks to keeping Trusted Mode enabled in your game. However, some players have reported performance issues. Valve stated that when specific applications repeatedly attempt to inject into CS:GO, “players may notice performance issues.” Theoretically, if a player were to identify the software trying to inject into their game, the issues would be resolved.
Developers also acknowledged early versions of Trusted Mode would cause a player’s game to crash. At the time, Trusted mode “would refuse foreign software injection a variety of ways.” One of the most common rejection methods was the game crashing. Though, the team said they were working on a solution that would not cause game crashes.
It’s not impossible to stream or record gameplay with OBS with Trusted Mode on, but it will take a little bit of a workaround. On start-up, CS:GO launches in Trusted Mode. Without changing anything in-game, you’ll need to use specific OBS settings to work around Trusted Mode.
STEP 1: Launch OBS
STEP 2: Navigate to the “Scenes” and “Sources” modules. By default, these two boxes are on the bottom half of the application.
STEP 3: Add a Display Capture source by clicking the addition “+” symbol found in the Sources module.
Note: You can use an already existing Display Capture source, but it’s suggested that you make a new source specifically for CS: GO.
Make sure to name the source in a way that will help you identify it’s used for CS:GO. In our guide, our Display Source is called “CSGODisplayCaptureSource.”
STEP 4: After adding your Display Capture source, click “OK” at the bottom right of the “Create/Select Source” window box. Display Capture will stream or record anything on your specified screen.
Remember that if you are streaming CS:GO with Display Capture, your audience will see your desktop if you tab out of the game. Be careful not to keep any sensitive information open on the monitor of your active Display Capture source.
Streaming and recording with Display Capture allow you to view CS:GO in OBS even though Trusted Mode is enabled. However, a few downfalls to using Display Capture to stream games, like FPS drops and input lag.
As mentioned, while Display Capture is an easy way to work around Trusted Mode, it’s known to cause noticeable FPS drops. For this reason, it’s always suggested to capture gameplay using OBS’ “Gameplay Capture” feature. If you intend to stick to using Gameplay Capture, there’s another way to ensure OBS picks up your CS:GO.
Disabling Trusted Mode will allow OBS to capture your gameplay whether you’re using Gameplay or Display capture for your scenes.
STEP 1: Open your CS:GO launch options by right-clicking on the game’s title in your Steam Library. Your Library is on the right side of the application.
STEP 2: After right-clicking CS:GO, you’ll see select “Properties.”
STEP 3: In the properties window, you’ll see several tabs. The first tab, titled “General,” is where you’ll go to edit your launch options.
STEP 4: Select “Set Launch Options”
STEP 5: In the launch options window, paste the following command into the text box, “-allow_third_party_software.”
STEP 6: Click “OK.”
STEP 7: Exit the Properties window and click “Close.”
Adding this command into your launch option forces CS:GO to start with Trusted Mode disabled. Now, you should be able to view CS:GO in OBS via Game Capture.
Valve has stated that, over time, disabling Trusted Mode may decrease Trust Factor if you inject files into the game. You will not automatically get banned for playing with Trusted Mode disabled, nor will you automatically get banned if CS:GO identifies third-party files in your game.
However, over time, Trusted Mode will learn what types of files lead to cheating. If TrustedMode identifies similar files on your system, you will be placed into a Low Trust Factor.
On the bright side, there is no guaranteed penalty for turning off Trusted Mode. Also, players in both modes (Trusted and unTrusted) are not placed into separate queues.
Which method are you using to stream or record CS: GO with OBS? Let us know on Twitter! Stay tuned to Dignitas for more Counter-Strike: Global Offensive guides.
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