The recent changes on Riot Games' Terms of Service for its games are now targeting content creators and gamers who are resorting to deceitful and fraudulent ways to get advantages in games. This includes the notorious tactics of stream sniping, boosting, smurfing, and buying or selling accounts which all focus on promoting unfair experiences for all players.
This specific crackdown by Riot Games centers on its two popular online PvP games including "League of Legends" and "Valorant" which have seen its fair share of these deceptive tactics from streamers and more.
Riot Games to Suspend Accounts it Finds Deceitful on 'LoL,' ' Valorant'
According to the latest blog post from Riot Games, the game development company has rolled out its new Terms of Service which detailed its reinforced campaign against tactics that harm the community. One of the biggest actions against Riot is to give out more suspensions to accounts that it will find violating its terms, especially for content creators who are sharing it online.
First off, "off-platform conduct" is still subject to facing a temporary ban should Riot find creators violating their terms, including hate speech, spamming, and more. Next, promoting actions to the audience which may lead to them breaking Riot's Terms of Service is also a punishable offense.
Riot Games revealed that it will apply these to both of its online multiplayer games including its MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena), "League of Legends," and first-person team-based shooter, "Valorant."
No to Stream Sniping, Boosting, Smurfing and MORE
More importantly, Riot is also denouncing the other tactics related to borderline cheating in games which are also punishable as per its ToS, threatening account suspensions. Riot said that it denounces 'stream sniping' where players hop on to live streams of their opponents to watch their moves to gain an unfair advantage.
On the other hand, Riot will also go against promoting 'boosting' which centers on creators talking about companies that can help in leveling up accounts and their ranks. 'Smurfing' also received a mention from Riot and this focuses on having seasoned or high-ranking players use new accounts to play at lower levels and destroy their opponents.
Lastly, Riot also said that buying or selling accounts is also a punishable offense.
Riot's Fight Against Cheating in Games
Cheating has always been a problem in the gaming industry as players who cannot rely on their skills and capabilities are resorting to methods or software that offer them an unfair advantage in games. Riot Games has since denounced these actions and has set up its anti-cheating tools to help make its title balanced for all, with its several titles like "Valorant" known for its notorious cheating problems.
Previously, Riot Games launched an all-out campaign against cheating thanks to its developments to improve gameplay, and it has since cracked down on these tools and their developers to rid them of their titles. Almost seven years ago, Riot Games won a lawsuit against a group of developers that created "League of Legends" cheating tools in its $10 million case.
While Riot Games already has aging games available in the market, the company still has a great deal of focus on these and does not condone these kinds of selfish acts that also harm its communities. "League of Legends" and "Valorant" bring forth a new Terms of Service from Riot Games which serves as a warning for all, creator or not, to avoid the deceptive tactics in games that are leaning towards borderline cheating and being unfair against those who are honestly playing.
