Shrapnel, a blockchain-based extraction shooter game, has identified numerous users attempting to gain an unfair advantage in matches and has issued a warning of permanent bans for any form of manipulation. During one of its early access gameplay events, Shrapnel users were found to be using two illegal strategies – teaming and account sharing – in order to rank higher on the leaderboard. This behavior has a significant impact on solo players, as several Web3 gamers coordinated their queues to take down other players.
The company has systems in place to detect these anomalies, which violate the game’s terms of use, and has stated that any players found to be in violation will be removed from the current leaderboard and considered for a permanent ban. Shrapnel encourages players to report instances of abuse as the game prepares to go fully live. However, there has been criticism from a community member who believes that this decision penalizes guilds and communities that prefer playing team matches. In response, Shrapnel clarified that they will only remove users who are unfairly coordinating to climb the leaderboard, not those playing with their friends.
In September 2023, Shrapnel made the decision to prohibit users in the United States from cashing out in-game assets due to regulatory complications with the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, players from Europe and Asia will still have unrestricted access to the game. In an interview with Cointelegraph on September 13, 2023, Shrapnel’s head of economy, Francis Brankin, expressed hope that this issue will be temporary and that Neon, the team behind Shrapnel, will soon enable U.S. users to transfer their accumulated capital from the game to their bank accounts.