Riot Games Sparks Controversy as Valorant Players Report Bans for Saying “GGWP”

A couple of Valorant players are voicing their frustrations with Riot Games after claiming they have been banned for ridiculous reasons.

Automated bans have become more prevalent in online gaming, with systems that evaluate whether chat messages are appropriate or not.

Over the years, we’ve witnessed several bizarre bans go viral in various games. For instance, an Overwatch 2 player was banned for simply typing “dumpsyer,” which was the name of their teammate.

Recently, a user and streamer known as ‘taxfraud4‘ gained attention after sharing an email purportedly from Riot, notifying them of a chat ban.

The email included a series of chat logs explaining why taxfraud4 was penalized, prompting outrage within the Valorant community.

i just got banned for saying ggwp 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/jQDfN4twKP

— ✯sacha✯ (@taxfraud4) September 19, 2024

According to reports, the player was banned for typing “????” and “ggwp,” which stands for “good game, well played.”

This has left many players puzzled, as Taxfraud4 was merely displaying good sportsmanship.

“That’s actually wild; funny to see their stance on banning so randomly is still active years after I stopped playing any game made by them,” one commented.

“How dare you be courteous and show sportsmanship!” another sarcastically replied.

Another user, known as ‘bigshhmeat,’ shared an email they received regarding a ban for having the persona name “i farted” in Apex Legends. Clearly, Valorant is not the only game imposing bizarre bans on users.

Cant be worse than mine and I was banned for a week pic.twitter.com/TPXFZ6MvWn

— Anti (@bigshhmeat) September 19, 2024

“Can’t be worse than mine and I was banned for a week,” they said.

Interestingly, this is not the first time a player has faced a ban for showing good sportsmanship, and given the lack of response from Riot, it seems unlikely to be the last occurrence.

Earlier in 2024, an Overwatch 2 player was banned for typing “GG” in chat, which raised confusion and triggered significant backlash against Blizzard.

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