Apex Legends player apparently perma-banned from EA games for typing “stfu”
EA / Respawn EntertainmentAn Apex Legends player has gone viral and sparked debate after sharing their permanent ban from all EA games, caused by a chat message that EA deemed in breach of their harassment rules.
In a Reddit post on November 19, user THEVAN3D shared their ban message, which shows EA issuing a permanent account ban, after they found he had typed ‘stfu’ in chat in Apex Legends.
The message read, “We consider this to be harassment. You can no longer play EA games on this account.”
The post quickly gathered steam, soon being shared around in other subreddits and social media. The player confirmed that the ban meant he was unable to access the EA App, rendering all his other games unplayable.
EA issues perma-bans for Apex chat messages
As the post went viral, others shared similar experiences, however, it became clear that this permanent ban was the result of accumulating multiple temporary bans beforehand.
Although THEVAN3D claims he has only ever been issued one previous ban, also for chat messages, others claimed that it was a three-strike system.
Another player also revealed they had been issued the same permanent ban from all EA games, after typing “Mfs trash” in game chat. However, they confirmed it had been their third such messaging strike.
However, THEVAN3D claims that this was only their second ban, with their previous one a temporary suspension for writing ‘xtfu’ – misspelling the intended ‘stfu’.
“[I had a] previous account suspension for same reason,” they said. “The account is clean. I never used cheats or done anything else. Just saying f**k a couple of times. And now I’m locked out of my account. not being able to access even single-player games.”
EA requires all players to agree to their “positive play charter“, which essentially governs respect, cheating, inappropriate content, and the law:
- Treat Others With Respect – Our community is diverse. Everyone should feel like they belong.
- Keep Things Fair – Winning is much more satisfying based on your own skills.
- Share Clean Content – Create and share stuff that’s appropriate.
- Follow Local Laws – Keep it legal in our games and services, just like you would IRL.
EA does indeed state that breaching these rules could lead to “restrictions on your account” or even “take away your access to certain or all EA Services.”
But, many players feel such a ban, encompassing all EA games, is too severe for messages like “stfu” or “mfs trash.” One player said, “banning someone for saying ‘stfu” is f**king ridiculous. Apex community is soft.”
Another argued, “Saying stfu is not harassment though.” EA, clearly, disagrees.
The banned player reached out to EA support to appeal, but was given a simple response: “After thoroughly investigating your account and concern, we found that your account was actioned correctly and will not remove this sanction from your account.”
Last year, players reported that they were being banned for using the name “Andrew Tate” as their username.