Blizzard puts the squeeze on Starcraft 2 cheaters

Banhammer launch detected

Starcraft II is a highly competitive game, so naturally, many players are constantly on the prowl for some way to get ahead. Unfortunately, some gamers turn to hacks or cheats to help give them the edge over the competition.

In a recent post on the official Starcraft 2 blog, a company spokesperson reaffirmed the developer's hardball approach to dealing with cheaters. "If a StarCraft II player is found to be cheating or using hacks or modifications in any form, then as outlined in our end user license agreement, that player can be permanently banned from the game," the studio said.

Blizzard announced earlier today that it would actively begin pursuing cheaters in the near future. Even if dirty players stop cheating, though, it may be too late to repent - the developer states in its blog post it will be targeting gamers who "have used or start using cheats."

The California-based studio leaves players with this advice: "Playing StarCraft II legitimately means playing with an unaltered game client. We strongly recommend that you avoid using any hacks, cheats, or exploits."

By Nicholas Gasse