Apex Legends Pro HisWattson Hit With Ban

 HisWattson, a professional Apex Legends player, recently got a temporary ban. It appears to be due to a chat message he sent during a game. In the gaming community and especially among Apex Legends players, HisWattson garnered a solid reputation quickly because of his outspoken attitude regarding several issues like cheaters, meta, and the impact of Respawn’s hit battle royale. Although temporary and permanent bans in the world of multiplayer games are nothing new, this case is indeed curious as to the reason for which it occurred seems to be rather finicky. 

An Insult in the Chat

The player revealed on his Twitter account that he was banned for three days by EA for violating the terms of service. At first, HisWattson claimed he was quite surprised by the ban. He could not figure out what exactly he had done. Then things became a bit clearer when a Reddit thread discussing the incident picked up the topic. According to one user, HisWattson caught an automated ban when he said “f**k you” to Xera. This was in response to her “big fan” comment. Now, this might be a purely friendly exchange of insults. But EA is rarely approving of such humor. 

Furthermore, even HisWattson confirmed this bit of news when pressed. He took to Twitter once again to speak about how frustrated he felt for the entire episode. The gamer meant it clearly as a friendly tirade and that in turn earned him a temporary ban from the game. He clarified his intention was not to insult anyone, and that it was just a joke meant for a teammate. Either way, nobody is listening and it seems the ban will continue for the next 72 hours. The automatic detection system is a huge pain in the neck. 

Debate in the Community

 

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This incident has sparked a much larger debate in the gaming community. Should such harsh bans become the norm for seemingly innocent acts? Why are the developers becoming so intolerant day by day? There is definitely a need to modify the automated detection system. The developers should take care so that they do not keep throwing out accounts for such silly reasons. Players are in a state of anger and will complain in some forums. But we are yet to see if EA or Respawn will take them seriously or not. Bans are a subject of much debate in the online gaming community. 

Meanwhile, this is not the first time HisWattson has landed in trouble for his carefree attitude. Earlier, someone leaked chats between the player and a notorious hacker where he was asking for help with his attacks. While nothing came of it, the very fact that a pro player contacted a shady data miner for help was rather concerning, to say the least. Moreover, he once got into a spat with Respawn over the fact that their security team was unavailable during weekends. As a result, he could not stream due to targeted attacks against his games. The famous soon get arrogant, well.