Vote concludes: voice chat between opposing teams returns to FACEIT as a Season 9 test

FACEIT has officially announced the results of the community vote on bringing back voice chat between opposing teams during the half-time break. According to the results posted by FACEITcs, 79% of 106,647 votes were in favor, with 21% against.

The vote essentially served as a community referendum on whether to bring back "all-talk" at half-time — a format many players remember fondly from the CS:GO era. The result came down clearly in favor of its return.

What this means in practice

The voice channel between both teams will open as a one-week test at the start of Season 9 — running from August 5 to 12. The mechanic works as previously announced: voice opens right as the half ends and closes again once the teams switch sides. That gives players a few seconds to wish each other luck, trade banter, or make predictions for the second half.

Important to note: this is still a one-week test, not a permanent, final decision. According to FACEIT, the feature's future will depend on how the test goes — specifically player reports, changes in toxicity data, and overall community feedback. That means after August 12, the platform will make a separate call on whether to keep the mechanic permanently, adjust it (for example, by adding an option to mute this portion of chat for players who don't want it), or drop it entirely.

Technical details that won't change:

• The feature will only be available in FACEIT Matchmaking; Clubs, ESEA League, and other match types won't be affected by the test.
• The match format itself remains unchanged — break duration, score, and match settings stay the same.
• Everything said during the half-time chat will be captured in the match demo file, just like any other in-game communication.
• During the test week, the feature can't be selectively disabled — it will be active for all FACEIT Matchmaking players, which is by design meant to make the test meaningful.

FACEIT's Season 9 launch — and with it, the start of the voice chat test period — is scheduled for August 5.