Controversy is mounting as players of 'Escape from Tarkov' claim they are facing account bans after requesting refunds for the newly released Steam version.

On the 17th (KST), a post appeared on the Escape from Tarkov subreddit claiming that "requesting a refund on Steam leads to a ban not only of that account but also of previously purchased standalone accounts." The author of the post alleged that even though their Steam license was linked to a completely new account, they appeared to have been hit with a hardware or IP ban.

Escape from Tarkov experienced significant server instability shortly after its Steam launch on the 15th, causing frustration for many users. Some players claim that after requesting a refund on Steam and repurchasing the game through the official Escape from Tarkov website, their accounts were linked, leading to the banning of their original accounts. It appears that the refund process automatically 'flags' the user, resulting in a ban. The original poster also noted that they requested a refund due to execution issues with the Steam version.

Users have strongly criticized these measures, calling them 'terrible business practices' and 'borderline illegal.' The prevailing sentiment is that since a refund is a legitimate consumer right when a product is unsatisfactory or technically flawed, revoking a user's existing license is unacceptable. Some users have even suggested that such actions could violate Steam's terms of service.

On the other hand, some users speculated that the measure might be intended to curb refund abuse, particularly by those who purchase the game solely to leave negative reviews. However, the original poster countered this by stating they did not leave a negative review and only requested a refund due to technical issues.

The poster stated they are currently in contact with Steam Support to verify the situation and are investigating whether this account ban is a deliberate action by the developer, Battlestate Games, or a severe technical oversight in the account linking and refund processing system.