Bandai Namco have listened to outcry for punishments for leavers by introducing suspensions and permanent bans.
Tekken 8's developer Bandai Namco posted on Twitter on March 15, that they have begun suspending accounts and issuing temporary and indefinite bans. These bans are aimed at targeting accounts which they said are involved in "malicious and unauthorized activities".
The social media post did not share how many Tekken 8 bans were issued, but it did share what they deem to be ban worthy now and in the near future.
Tekken 8 Bans - What will get you banned
The Tekken 8 bans will aim to target accounts involved in:
- Intentional Disconnects
- Unauthorized mods
- Cheating
- Unauthorized cracks
- Inappropriate customizations / player names
Based on their tweet, it seems Bandai Namco will also be introducing in-game reports to Tekken 8, which would add up to a temporary or permanent ban.
[...] "In March, we'll implement additional measures to broaden our suspension efforts, specifically targeting users who violate the End User License Agreement (EULA) after receiving multiple in-game reports."
Bandai Namco also shared updates about Tekken World Tour 2024 which opens for registration on March 19, 2024.
Intentional Disconnects
Players that deliberately disconnect have been a plague on Tekken 8 Ranked Mode, and news of suspensions for engaging in this activity was welcomed. Pluggers - as they are now often referred to as - leave the match before its conclusion to avoid suffering a defeat.
In the current Ranked Mode, players that disconnect do not lose any points, nor does the player remaining win any points for their efforts. Not only that, if the player who remains in the game was on a win streak, the win streak will end. This is important because Ranked Mode offers a win streak bonus when it comes to XP.
Up until now, there was no punishment for repeatedly disconnecting, not even a timeout on re-entering Ranked Mode.
Unauthorized mods
The mention of unauthorized mods was the point that caused the most confusion from the Tekken 8 community. Bandai Namco has historically turned a blind eye to mods for their Tekken titles. Tekken 8 mods, which are only available to PC players, are incredibly popular.
While some Tekken 8 mods make tweaks to the UI or the stages, others offer new character outfits, or bring back old classic outfits from previous titles.
Bandai Namco did not specify what was meant by "unauthorized mods", which did lead to a swarm of comments in the replies from Tekken 8 fans. Technically any mod is unauthorized, as it's simply about swapping out game files.
Some mods of course offer more NSFW or raunchy content, which could be the kind of content Bandai Namco is trying to clamp down on, especially given how much social media has evolved since the launch of Tekken 7 back in 2015.
In terms of mods, Jun Kazama and Reina in particular, have been the subject of many Tekken 8 mods since launch (examples in the links below).
Inappropriate customization and player names
In Tekken 8 player customization was all the rage in the first couple of weeks with the likes of Tifa, Bayonetta and even 2B from Nier Automata recreated. However, some users have also used the tools to create more controversial outfits, such as a Bryan Fury Adolf Hitler equipped with red armband.
It is likely this is the type of character customization the developer will be aiming to shut down with their Tekken 8 bans.
As for inappropriate player names that seems very straightforward. Tekken 8 allows you to alter your display name in-game as many times as you want. When you give toxic player that kind of power, it's only right that power might need to be taken away.