A recent announcement from Valve has stated that third party developers will be given the freedom to implement their own systems for detecting and permanently banning disruptive players. Disruptive behaviour is defined by the developer and can include players who insist on cheating in games.
The banning process
The banning process is as follows: Game developers will inform Valve of a disruptive player which they have identified in-game. Valve will follow through and apply a game ban to the disruptive player’s account. Responsibility for the decision of applying a game ban falls solely on the shoulders of the developer. Valve is only responsible for enforcing the game ban.
Its implementation
The effects of a game ban are determined by the developer. But the game ban must be in accordance with the limitations of a VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat System) ban. The VAC system is an automated system which detects cheats being used by players. Usually with a VAC ban, a user connects to a VAC-Secured server from a computer where cheats are installed. The system will then ban that user from playing on VAC-Secured servers.
Typically, a VAC ban includes such restrictions as being banned from playing with others online and trading game items with other players. The duration of a game ban is also determined by the developer. Developers cannot prevent players from accessing Steam, launching their games and playing offline. Additionally, these new game bans will apply only to multiplayer games.
The problems it may present
One of the issues we see arising with these new game bans is the abuse of the system by Early Access developers. Effectively, when a multiplayer Early Access game is released a developer could hypothetically request bans for players that negatively comment in their support forums. They could deem the player disruptive when, in actuality, they aren’t. It’s open to abuse is what we’re saying, or it may be.
Valve has thought ahead on this one and assures players that developers will need to go through an approval process before they can use the banning system, and Valve can revoke the right of a developer to ban disruptive players if abuse is proven to be taking place.
If players feel they have been wrongly banned they firstly need to contact the developer, and if that doesn’t work only then must a player contact Steam Support to take the issue further. Whether this system will work can only be seen a few months down the line and we hope it works out for the best.
Source: Steam
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I play an online Facebook game where the developer actively ban multiple accounts, cheaters and in some cases disruptive players. In some cases it has a negative effect on the game, but on the other hand people know the players are legitimate. It also creates a more fair playing field for everyone, since certain players can’t advantage themselves with multiple accounts.