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Valve Addresses 12,000 Erroneous MW2 Steam Bans, Gives Free Left 4 Dead 2
by Leigh Alexander [PC, Console/PC]
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July 27, 2010
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Valve is offering free copies of Left 4 Dead 2 to Steam users who have recently found themselves banned from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 due to a glitch. The erroneous bans have since been reversed, and company president Gabe Newell sent an apology letter to those affected.
According to Newell, the bans affected about 12,000 users over a two-week period, many of whom publicized the issue via forum discussions and tips to consumer news sites. Each affected user received an email from Newell explaining the tech snafu and offering two free Left 4 Dead 2 games, with one that can be gifted to a friend.
"This was our mistake, and I apologize for any frustration or angst it may have caused you," wrote Newell in his letter, published by numerous consumer media outlets including Kotaku.
"The problem was that Steam would fail a signature check between the disk version of a DLL and a latent memory version," he explained. "This was caused by a combination of conditions occurring while Steam was updating the disk image of a game."
Newell clarified that the error wasn't something inherent to Modern Warfare 2, and said Steam allows Valve to identify and reverse erroneous bans.
He said affected users who did not already own a copy of Left 4 Dead 2, the latest in the company's popular multiplayer zombie shooter franchise, would find a copy already waiting for download in their library, and that they could access a code to share with a buddy via Steam's gift and guest pass management center.
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Most game companies would simply reverse the ban and speak no more; but, Valve gives out free games and genuinely apologizes.
Maybe I'm just being a fan boy :x ?
The reason why I think the issue was attended with such grace is because it affected the retail distribution of the game. Those who bought it in a store, but had to use Steamworks to play online. This is a market that Valve wants and they don't want to sour publishers from using this method because it would reduce their install base from high retail sale titles.
Likely the people that purchased it on Steam would of continued to use Steam had their bans simply been lifted, but retail users who purchased a boxed product were not necessarily into using Steam until they were forced to. Those are the customers you want to make sure you make happy.
Either way good on them for the service, it is something you don't see about often, but we hope we don't have to see!