Dota 2: Valve reveals bans with “Christmas Present” in the game

Valve carried out a wave of Smurf and toxic player bans in Dota 2but instead of just following standard protocol and blocking users’ accounts, the company decided to surprise them, rrevealing the ban through “Christmas presents” in the game.

All Dota 2 players received a gift chest from Valve, but some didn’t have the best of surprises. A video that went viral showed the former professional player Mason Venne being banned for toxicity. He discovered the ban by opening an in-game gift chest:

“Large and toxic piece of coal” is the name of the gift received by the streamer. Just below, there is the message: “Your Dota account has been permanently banned for Smurfing or other violations of the Steam Terms of Service”.

In the case of Mason Venne specifically, the ban was due to toxicity within the game. On Reddit, the streamer confessed to having paid someone to play on his account and increase his behavior score.

Repercussion on the community

Valve’s way of banning players went viral on social media and gained the support of many people. “This is just fantastic and I fully support banning drugs this way“, wrote a streamer. “Very cool, I wish Riot had the courage to do this“, commented another user.

Have you ever wondered if the trend catches on among developers?