Riot Games has allegedly banned a player for a harmless expression in Valorant, but then the story took a different direction and the developers revealed the true reason.
What does the player claim as the reason for the ban? A Valorant player shared a screenshot on X.com stating that he was banned by Riot Games for the chat message “ggwp”.
The expression “ggwp” is typed into the chat at the end of a match in competitive games to convey a form of congratulations or even a compliment for the performance. It is a statement of sportsmanship and is used regardless of victory or defeat.
However, it also happens that toxic players use the expression ironically or want to show a lack of confidence in their teammates, for example when the match is far from over.
Riot Games, the developer studio behind the tactical shooter, responded to the player’s post and publicly clarified that the ban had a different reason. The developers explain that the claim he was banned for “ggwp” is merely a shortcoming of the system.
Riot responds: That wasn’t the reason, the ban remains
What is the true reason? Riot Games states in the response on X.com that the player was banned for spoken statements in the game’s voice chat.
The automated system that informs players about the reason for the ban currently cannot provide transcripts of spoken statements as evidence. However, a support employee from the studio has since provided the player with a transcript of the statements that led to the ban.
Riot Games made clear in the response that they will not revoke the ban.
In competitive games like Valorant, Counter-Strike, and League of Legends, many players regularly encounter toxic statements in the voice and text chat. However, there are also friendly players.
For example, we reported in August about a player who was rewarded by Riot Games for staying calm and being friendly to his teammates in Valorant: Gamer receives unique gift from Riot Games for being nice to his opponent despite numerous provocations
