COMPANY OF HEROES COMMUNITY CODE OF CONDUCT ("CODE OF HEROES")

The success of Company of Heroes in part, relies on the cooperation and character of our community. To ensure that we foster a welcoming and inclusive space for all, we ask that community members hold each other accountable and adhere to this Code of Heroes. This code operates in conjunction with the SEGA EULA (Terms of Service) and applies to our games, forums, tournaments, engagement with Relic and/or our community on social media platforms, and all other official platforms relating to the Company of Heroes franchise.  

We want our community to continue to thrive and those members are treated fairly and with respect. We can only achieve this goal if we work together.  

This Code of Heroes, though non-exhaustive, sets out the standards and behavior that we expect from our community. Additionally, we have provided guidance as to how Relic will respond to inappropriate, threatening and/or offensive actions or behaviors.  

Relic reserves the right to discontinue provision of the forum and/or any official platform for the Company of Heroes franchise at any time. Further, Relic may remove members and/or content from the game or community where it violates this Code of Heroes. Relic reserves the right to amend and update this Code of Heroes at any time by changing it as it applies to your engagement with our community. Relic may also take any action against member accounts that violate the spirit of this Code of Heroes or breach our account terms, to uphold the integrity of our games, products and services and to provide the expected in-game and community experience to our members. For the avoidance of doubt, we reserve the right to evaluate each incident on a case-by-case basis and to take action in relation to conduct/behavior that impacts our community, even where the infraction takes place on a third-party platform.

COMMUNITY VALUES

•    Company of Heroes is a franchise to be enjoyed by everyone, and that includes our community spaces.  

•    Our community spaces must be welcoming and accessible for members to share their passion for Company of Heroes.  

•    Members should be treated with respect, kindness, and empathy always. Additionally, treat others as they wish to be treated.  

•    Communicate with each other in a manner that is constructive and collaborative. 

•    Members should expect fair play in an environment that is competitive and free of exploits, cheating or any other bad faith behavior detracting from their experience.  

•    Access our community, including our products and services in accordance with the terms made available to you.  

•    Be conscious that the community can be made up of a diverse audience and use appropriate language.  

•    Report all disruptive behavior. 

•    Respect Relic’s investigation processes and policies. Trust that we will take all necessary action in response to each case. Be mindful that external campaigns do not foster a fair and kind community.  

•    Always do your best in-game and play to win, but be accepting of the fact that people play differently from you or deviate from what is “meta,” and that doesn’t make it griefing or wrong.  

•    Work as a team. Encourage other players and don’t disparage them. Support your teammates, even if things aren’t going your way. 

•    Always protect your account and personal information. Account sharing of any kind is not allowed.

DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR

Disruptive behaviors directed towards other players or Relic staff will not be tolerated. These include, but are not limited to, perpetrating, promoting, glorifying, or advocating for anything listed below:

•    Any form of bigotry, denigration or hate speech including but not limited to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, classism, xenophobia, religious discrimination, or linguistic discrimination. 

•    Promotion of Nazism or fascism through any means (iconography, in-game chat, avatars, manipulating in-game assets, etc.)  

•    Expressions of nationalism. 

•    Abusive language (this includes attempting to work around chat and moderation filters)  

•    Posting offensive, indecent or explicit images or content.  

•    Any form of bullying or harassment. 

•    Personal attacks, jokes or comments at the expense of other members.  

•    Threats of violence, encouraging self-harm or endangerment of others.  

•    Spamming chat channels, including spamming advertisements.  

•    Promoting illegal activity or malicious websites or practices.  

•    Revealing or sharing other people's personal information to doxx them. 

•    Posting or broadcasting Relic’s confidential content  

•    Any bad-faith behavior designed to grief others, bait members into breaking the Code of Heroes, or retaliate against another member.  

•    Use of in-game player names or profile names on a Relic owned platform that violates this Code of Heroes. 

•    Impersonation of any community member, public figure, or Relic staff member. 

•    Cheating in any form, including any action or behavior that results in an unfair advantage. This includes stream sniping, match fixing or utilizing any third-party software that disrupts, alters, or manipulates the game. 

•    Exploits and bug abuse. This includes any bug, glitch or unintended game design to gain an advantage in a manner not intended by our designers. This extends to any modification designed to exploit game systems. 

•    Unfair and unsportsmanlike behavior. This includes but is not limited to boosting, win trading, throwing, purposefully losing, feeding unit kills to the enemy, going AFK while in a multiplayer match, teamkilling, etc.  

•    The creation of false or multiple Steam accounts where contrary to official tournament or platform rules. 

•    Sharing login/profile account details with other participants where contrary to official tournament or platform rules. (Sanctions would be applied against both the account holder and the participant utilizing the account). 

•    Use of software to automate in-game actions (e.g.: macros) 

•    Utilizing any gameplay mechanic to purposefully detract from the gameplay experience of another player.  

•    Utilizing any livestream to gain an advantage or cause any disruptive behavior. 

•    Exploiting and/or scamming members. 

•    Any behavior demonstrated to avoid or dodge a ban. This includes playing or acting on any other accounts. 

•    Manipulating or creating false evidence in player reports. 

•    Breach of our company policies and/or agreements, including actions contrary to our EULA which hack or exploit our games and services. 

•    Breaches of national or international laws, including unauthorized disclosure of a another’s personal data. 

REPORTING

This Code of Heroes is a guide for our journey together as a community. Should you experience or witness any behavior that deviates from or violates the Code of Heroes, please help us by following the reporting procedures outlined here. We review all reports and do everything within our power to address them appropriately. 

TOURNAMENTS 

For Relic hosted tournaments and competitions, we will issue additional terms and rules for participants prior to the event. Participants will need to agree to competition terms as part of the registration process. Community led tournaments will also be required to adhere to the full Code of Heroes. These will include terms that cover but are not limited to: 

•    Eligibility and qualification 

•    Registration 

•    Participation, format and dates and times 

•    Match rules and anti-cheat requirements 

•    Observation, casting and refereeing 

•    Results reporting 

•    Appeals and penalties 

•    Prizing and awards 

DATA PRIVACY AND PROTECTION

Relic monitors in-game activity using a secure software tool which has been developed internally by Relic. This tool collects certain data from players (such as hashed IP addresses, player IDs, etc.) and helps us to detect, investigate and prevent cheating in our games and tournaments, as well as all other violations listed in this Code of Heroes. Relic collects, processes, and retains this data, which may include personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS 

By participating in the Company of Heroes online community and/or services, you agree to be bound by this Code of Heroes, any other applicable Relic terms and conditions and the terms of any third party where relevant (i.e. Steam, Twitch, Discord, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, forums, etc.). 

Relic may also take any action against member accounts that violate the spirit of this Code of Heroes in an effort to uphold the integrity of our games and provide the expected in-game and community experience to our members. 

Please do not send Relic or any of its staff unsolicited ideas or works if you wish for them to remain proprietary or secret. 

SUPPORT

Should you require any technical help with your games or official Relic accounts, you may contact Sega Support.