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Valve introduces Game Bans on Steam; allows developers to report hackers and cheaters

Valve Eye Face

Nobody likes a cheat, and Valve are no different. This week, they’ve widened their ability to ban nefarious individuals by allowing game developers to report any suspicious activity straight to Valve. Gamers that are found guilty can find themselves with a Game Ban for the specific games they cheat in, even ones that aren’t enforced with Valve’s own VAC and Overwatch anti-cheat system.

The main advantage Game Bans provide is being able to take action on games that use their own anti-cheat system, other than Valve’s own. “Playing games should be fun.” Valve correctly stated. “In order to ensure the best possible online multiplayer experience, Valve allows developers to implement their own systems that detect and permanently ban any disruptive players, such as those using cheats.”

But with great power comes great responsibility. “Game developers inform Valve when a disruptive player has been detected in their game, and Valve applies the game ban to the account.” continued Valve. “The game developer is solely responsible for the decision to apply a game ban. Valve only enforces the game ban as instructed by the game developer.”

Valve have lately sparked a lot of heated debate with the swift introduction and then retraction of paid mods on Steam, you can read all about it here.