The Coalition is making a hard stand against quitters in their latest title, Gears 5. So far, the community is simultaneously grateful and shocked at the announcement as some players are being struck down with bans that can last for months or even years. This ban is unprecedented with such drastic measures being taken against quitters.
Fans were baffled by the message as it was phrased undiplomatically and without hesitation. Like a formal declaration of war, the post sat on the official Twitter, and fans battled out its meaning in the comments. The opinion is currently split between the two, with fans not knowing exactly what to expect from the seemingly no-nonsense policy.
Quitters in online multiplayer games is not uncommon, and it is an issue that has yet to be solved by the community. Games usually impose a penalty or a light ban, but it seems that Gears 5 is going for a brutal one strike approach.
A player went to Reddit to expose his case after he received a ban for 640 days. After investigating the issue Dana Sissons, director of communications for Gears of War, tweeted that this player had “played 21 escalation matches and quit 18 of them.”
Similar reports have been surfacing, and Sissons was quick to call them out. One player was a chronic quitter and had quit over half of the games on that day alone. He continued to point out that quitting ruins the game for the other nine people who are playing the game.
As a team-based shooter, cooperation is key, and quitting can not be tolerated. Quitters can ruin the rank of other players, and because of the lack of teammates can result in the inability to win at all. Other games, like Overwatch, replace missing team members, but so far, Gears 5 does not allow that in competitive play.
Others online are saying that this penalty system is unfair, and a more incremental penalty would be reasonable. Slowly building up the ban amount based on the number of offenses. Other concerns like disconnecting accidentally or other technical issues inflicting a ban upon their account. There would be nothing worse than your power going out and coming back to a one year ban.
The Coalition did reveal that impacted users are currently being unsuspended but are one quit away from the suspension being reinstated. The tweet presents a dangerous “You have been warned” as a threat to any who would quit and abandon their teammates in battle.
