Blogs
on April 10, 2026
When a streamer gets banned from Twitch, there is usually little information as to why a ban was handed out. The mystery behind Dr Disrespect's ban from Twitch , for example, still hasn't been solved. But former Twitch streamer James 'Phantoml0rd' Vargas, who was banned from the platform in 2016, has won a lawsuit against Twitch after unproven fraud allegations led to a permanent
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released about a decade ago, and the Counter-Strike franchise is much older than that, but it still has a massive player base of casual fans and professional Twitch streamers alike. In fact, according to Steam stats for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive , the player numbers are just rising. This might be due to some of the best esports tournaments around, or perhaps thanks to interesting personalities and professional competitors creating quality content on Twi
However, this isn't the first time a Valve product or service was indirectly involved in the war efforts. It was recently reported that the Ukrainian military is using the Steam Deck to remotely control turrets . Here, the Steam Deck runs a custom UI that allows the operator to be up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) away from the turret. The custom version is reportedly capable of installing any anti-personnel or anti-tank weapon as w
The lawsuit could potentially open the door to other banned streamers filing against Twitch for wrongful bans. That, or Twitch might start to be more forthcoming with reasons why permanent bans are handed out. Providing exactly where a streamer breached Terms of Service could help to prevent any similar litigation, like Vargas's case h
The war in Ukraine continues to make a distinct impact on many industries across the spectrum, including the gaming sector. Over the course of 2022, companies ranging from Take-Two and Ubisoft to Sony have restricted Russia from its services with others like Riot Games, Microsoft, and Epic even going on to raise funds for Ukraine. In one of the latest developments, one community is reportedly utilizing a CS:GO map in an effort to reach the Russian masses to report on the present circumstances of the
The lack of feedback was described as a "worse form of a Cease and Desist," and the Classic Offensive team stands frustrated over the sudden halt. Adding to their grievances, the CS:GO mod's developers shared that many Valve employees were aware of the project but provided no indication that their work would ultimately face rejection. Keeping this in mind, the Classic Offensive team felt "required" to inform any modding teams working on Valve-related projects to reconsider their release strategies should they plan to rely solely on Steam as their primary distribution platf
There are 18 ranks split among six tiers: Silver, Gold Nova, Guardian, Eagle, Supreme Master First Class, and Global Elite . Players receiving a rank for the first time after the introductory period can only be placed in the first four tiers, while Supreme Master First Class and Global Elite have to be earned after the initial placement. Here is the full list of all 18 ranks in order of lowest to highest r
Vargas was accused in 2016 of running a CS:GO website and actively promoting it despite not clarifying that he was the owner of the site. However, Twitch banned Vargas without proof of these allegations of fraud, and this is what is at the heart of the lawsuit the former streamer won. Seeking to clear his name, and financial compensation for being banned from the platform, Vargas filed the lawsuit against Twitch and was found to be in the right. He was awarded $20,702.34 in damages, a far cry from the $35 million he was seek
Players who would like to participate in the Competitive playlist in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will first have to play unranked matches of Arms Race, Casual, Deathmatch, or Demolition until reaching level two. Then, they will be placed in one of several ranks to climb the competitive ladder. This guide will help players identify how many ranks there are in total and how the ranking system works in CS:
Players will not be able to know how you can help many competitive matches it will take before seeing a rank change, and it is possible to continue staying within a rank if performance is steady and does not change. However, players who take an extended break from playing ranked matches will have their rank suspended until they win a specific number of matches to be placed ag
With millions of viewers and thousands upon thousands of streamers, Twitch's prominent place online makes it a target for lawsuits, with the streaming site facing a lawsuit last summer regarding "scantily clad" female streamers . For Vargas, it seems the impetus for the lawsuit was in clearing his name, after being forced off the platform unceremoniously and without any actual evidence of wrongdo
It's currently unclear why Valve moved forward with these changes in France, in particular. So far France has not enacted any new regulations to account for loot boxes in video games, though French courts did recently rule that Steam has to allow users to resell their digital games . In 2018, the French online gambling regulatory body even assessed that loot boxes were not gambling under the country's current regulation. Perhaps Valve is using France as a testing bed or perhaps the decision is intended to shift discourse within the country or Europe. Either way, Valve certainly appears to be taking steps to protect the profits it receives from loot boxes amid the growing international controve