Valve Suspends 20,000 Steam Accounts
That'll learn all you pirating thieves!
Piracy is an important issue for the videogame industry, one that publishers and industry bodies have struggled with for decades, and it's usually the most popular games that find themselves in the hands of counterfeiters.
Half-Life 2 is just one of the current targets for software pirates, and Valve has taken a pro-active approach to the issue.
The company announced on Tuesday that it has closed 20,000 Steam accounts after conclusively confirming that the accounts were attached to faked copies of its new shooter.
The Steam system is an online authentication system that gamers are obliged to use in order to play Steam-compatible Valve titles like Half-Life 2.
Valve has denied claims that it sought to entrap software pirates by releasing fake CD keys or special versions of Half-Life 2.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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