Updated 'Friday the 13th: The Game' Rules Punish Excessive Game-leaving

Friday the 13th: The Game now has an updated, more extensive code of conduct that includes several common guidelines as well as a warning related to leaving games before they're completed.

While the game didn't have an official code of conduct for players to agree to upon its release, a set of guidelines was established in late June, just over a month after the game was released. The code of conduct still wasn't found anywhere in-game, but it could be seen through several official game out lets such as the Steam and Facebook page as well as within the Friday the 13th: The Game community on Reddit.

The first version of the code of the conduct was pretty informal in nature, a seven-point list of main offenses with brief descriptions after each one to clarify each points' meaning. But now, the code of conduct has doubled in size with 14 points now being mandatory rules to follow.

Despite the code of conduct growing, most of the codes listed are pretty basic guidelines for online gaming and shouldn't come as a surprise to players. However, there's one among them that's interesting given the way that Friday the 13th: The Game is structured, a rule shown below that says you could be punished for leaving mid-game too many times.

(XIII) Logging out or exiting the Service during live game-play. We may track this data over time and issue a temporary ban when a user is determined to have left mid-game too many times. The length of the temporary ban will increase over time if a particular account continues to leave live game play

Leaving mid-game in the asymmetrical matches is definitely an issue in the game, that much is certain. If the host leaves the game, there's no current system in place to migrate the host, so the game ends. But with each game not ending until Jason's killed, all the Counselors escape or are killed, or the 20-minute time limit is reached, players are stuck spectating the game until its over. There's little incentive to stick around other than to hold onto the few points you've earned since you died so early on, so many players simply choose to leave and find a new match.

The code of conduct mentions "live game-play," so it appears to apply whether you're alive or dead, but the true interpretation of the guideline will likely only be revealed through further clarification or once bans start rolling out.

For now, you can review the updated code of conduct here at the game's website to make sure you're up to speed on the new rules.