It’s not an everyday occurrence for a game developer to wage war against a portion of its active player base, but that’s what Valve just announced today.
In its most recent Dota 2 blog titled “Smurfing is Not Welcome in Dota,” Valve said it permanently banned 90,000 smurf accounts and assured Dota 2 players that it would take harsher actions against those who don’t play the game on an even playing field. To prevent smurfs from going back to their old tricks, Valve also tracked the affected users’ main accounts.
In the future, if an account gets flagged for smurfing, all accounts associated with it will also be punished with a set of penalties ranging from temporary behavior score adjustments to permanent account bans.
“Dota is a game best enjoyed when played on an even field,” Valve said. “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.”
Following this news, smurfing players who were affected by the changes flooded into community forums, complaining about their bans. Though some claimed they weren’t even smurfing, Valve generally hits the spot with its detection tools, so the bans should be here to stay.
Since the beginning of 2023, Valve has been taking the initiative to ensure each Dota 2 match is played fairly. The process started with the developer bringing down the ban hammer and permanently removing over 40,000 Dota 2 cheaters in February, and it now continues with smurfs.
Earlier in the week, Valve also released a Summer Client Update that streamlined the reporting and feedback process in the game. Players now have access to more reporting options and other tools that will improve their ranked gaming experience in Dota 2.
