Escape from Tarkov developer Battlestate Games was banned from Twitch on January 1st, for the second time in just over three years. While the previous ban happened when a developer mimicked a suicide, no official reason has been provided for the current ban. Current speculation is that one of the game’s developers jokingly held an airsoft gun to another’s head, which is against the platform’s rules. The ban comes as Battlestate Games is doing Twitch drops for Escape from Tarkov, so the timing really isn’t great! Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing how long the ban will last.
“This channel is temporarily unavailable due to a violation of Twitch’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service,” the developer’s channel currently reads.
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Hopefully the channel will be reinstated before too long! Fans have started a hashtag on Twitter to draw attention to the ban, sharing #FreeBSG on the platform. Twitch users have complained that the platform’s rules can be a bit too strict, and are sometimes even nonsensical. Given that, it’s hard to imagine Twitch keeping the ban going for too long, but Escape from Tarkov players can still get the Twitch drops even without Battlestate Games on the platform, as the stream has continued through the SherpaHub channel.
Battlestate Games owes a lot of the success of Escape from Tarkov to Twitch; Escape from Tarkov gained a significant amount of popularity as a result of streams of the game. Over the last few years, Twitch streamers have helped introduce audiences to a number of games that they might not have found otherwise, popularizing titles like Among Us and Phasmophobia. The Battlestate Games ban won’t prevent streamers from playing the game on Twitch, but the developer has a vested interested in playing ball with the platform and making sure that this doesn’t happen for a third time!
Escape from Tarkov is available exclusively on PC. Readers interested in learning more about the game can check out all of our previous coverage right here.
What do you think of this ban for Battlestate Games? Do you think Twitch is too strict? Let us know inthe comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
[H/T: Dexerto]
