PC games giant Valve has banned up to 90,000 Dota 2 smurf accounts and will ban the associated main accounts of players who continue to smurf in an attempt to bypass its matchmaking system.
The company made the announcement in a blog post where it said that any main account found to be associated with a smurf could face “a wide range of punishments,” such as being permanently banned.
Valve wrote, “Today, we permanently banned 90,000 smurf accounts that have been active over the last few months. Smurf accounts are alternate accounts used by players to avoid playing at the correct MMR, to abandon games, to cheat, to grief, or to otherwise be toxic without consequence.
“We have traced every single one of these smurf accounts back to its main account,” Valve wrote. “Going forward, a main account found associated with a smurf account could result in a wide range of punishments, from temporary adjustments to behaviour scores to permanent account bans.
A stringent process
Players who suspect that there is a smurf in their game are encouraged to use Dota 2’s in-game reporting system to flag the account. Valve will then investigate the account and take the appropriate action, if necessary.
With 90,000 accounts having been banned in a single move, it certainly seems like Valve has amped up its efforts in eradicating the popular esports game of smurfs and is taking the issue very seriously.
“Dota is a game best enjoyed when played on an even field. The quality of the people in a given match are what makes a match good. We’re invested in making sure your matches are as good as possible, and smurfing makes matches worse,” Valve wrote.
Although many games have tried to dethrone Dota 2 as the most popular game on SteamCharts.com, none have been able to do so. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive remains the top game, but Dota 2 is consistently ranked second and remains one of the highest paying esports games.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
