Valve has banned thousands of Dota 2 accounts following the release of Patch 7.35

Valve, along with the global patch 7.35, has blocked several thousand smurf accounts in Dota 2. Even esports players received penalties.

The relevant information was provided by the developers on the official blog on Steam.

"At The International, some professional players discussed their smurf accounts with us. These discussions continued, and professionals reached a mutual agreement: blocking their smurf accounts improves the Dota community. Rules should apply to everyone, and now they will. Smurfing is not the only questionable activity. Among other things, some violators ruin games for others and lose their good conduct, then hire others to restore it"

Some players noticed that not only their smurf accounts but also their main accounts were banned. This is not an error but intentional action. Profiles that helped "cleanse" conduct were included in the list of violators. Although Valve was strict with some, for minor violations, only the conduct rating was lowered without an account ban.

Recall that Valve released the new 7.35 patch right during ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, shocking esports players and the Dota 2 community.