Mystic Messenger's most loyal players are getting banned in droves for seemingly playing the game too much

"The free-to-play mobile dating sim has started banning players with seemingly too many Hourglasses - the game's virtual currency - saved up in their accounts. So far, it looks like players with 1,000 or more have been targeted, but others with far fewer hoards have reported getting the axe, too."

"The message players received is identical, and doesn't mention the specific reason for the ban. "Your account has been banned because abusive behavior has been detected from your account," it reads, ending with a support email address the affected user can contact if they believe they'd banned in error."

"It didn't take a while for players to realise that most, if not all of the bans are for players with thousands of Hourglasses in their accounts. The virtual currency can both be acquired in-game just by playing, as well as through direct real-money purchases."

"When contacted by the affected players, Cheritz, the developer and publisher of the game, has instructed them to send receipts of how they acquired Hourglasses (assuming they were purchased) to verify whether or not they'd been fraudulently obtained."

Mystic Messenger has been inactive for years but remains popular. Players have reported receiving bans after logging in, with an identical notice stating the account was banned due to detected abusive behavior. Many affected accounts appear to have accumulated large quantities of Hourglasses, the game’s virtual currency, with reports targeting players at or above 1,000 Hourglasses and some with fewer. Hourglasses can be earned through regular play over long periods and also purchased with real money. The developer instructed affected players to submit receipts showing how Hourglasses were acquired to verify whether the currency was obtained fraudulently. The situation has led to widespread reports from players on the game’s community forum.

Read at VG247