The developer of Escape from Tarkov, Battlestate Games, was recently banned from Twitch right in the midst of celebrating the New Year on the platform.
❌ Twitch Partner "BattlestateGames" (@bstategames) has been banned! ❌https://t.co/nhPkMtHC3Q#twitch #ban #secondban #partner #twitchpartner ✉
— StreamerBans (@StreamerBans) January 1, 2023
StreamerBans, a Twitter account that automatically publishes bans of Twitch partners, posted a tweet about the situation. The account was written about blocking BattleState, however, they did not name the reason why Twitch blocked the account. He also did not mention how long the ban would be in effect. However, Reddit users were able to name a possible reason for blocking. Many users of the subreddit mentioned that this is most likely Twitch’s gun policy. According to Reddit users, the developers most likely directed exact copies of weapons at each other. This is something that is prohibited by the Twitch community rules in the section “Targeted harassment, threats and violence against others”:
Brandishing deadly or dangerous weapons, such as pistols, knives, or explosives.
The guidelines mention that this is “considered a violation of harassment with absolute intolerance, and all accounts associated with such activity will be immediately blocked indefinitely.”
This is not the first time that Tarkov’s developer has been banned from Twitch. Back in 2019, Battlestate Games received a Twitch ban after someone in their stream pretended to commit suicide. This is contrary to Twitch’s “self-destructive behavior” policy, according to which the site prohibits “any actions that may endanger your life or cause you physical harm.” One user on Twitter even said that this could be the real reason for the ban. It was said that Nikita Buyanov, the head of Battlestate Games studio and Tarkov’s game director, shot him dry with a pistol in the head on the stream.
