5 of the 30,000 H1Z1 cheaters have been pardoned

Daybreak Game Company is doing something very interesting when it comes to dealing with cheaters in their game H1Z1.

Earlier this week, the developer started banning players caught cheating in the online post-apocalyptic zombie survival game. So far, a staggering 30,000-or-so players have been banned and I'm sure that number is growing.

24,837 have been banned for cheating.

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) May 18, 2015

But here's where things have started to get interesting. Rather than simply banning people and moving on, Daybreak Game Company is giving these cheaters a second chance. Create a video publicly apologizing to the H1Z1 playerbase and there's a chance your ban can be lifted.

Dear Cheaters who got banned. Many of you are emailing me, apologizing and admitting it. Thank you. However.. You're doing it wrong

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) May 20, 2015

If you want us to even consider your apology a public YouTube apology is necessary. No personal information please. Email me the link

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) May 20, 2015

Please be sure not to reveal any info. That's important. Not trying to do anything other than highlight a serious issue.

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) May 20, 2015

Please address your apology to fellow players, not us. Although you hurt our business this is about them not us

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) May 20, 2015

The goal, according to Daybreak Game Company president John Smedley, is to raise awareness about a serious issue hurting online games. And just because players made videos apologizing doesn't meant heir ban was automatically lifted. In fact, as of 1:08 Pacific, only 5 of the 30,000 bans issued have been pardoned.

So why this unprecedented move? Smedley took to the H1Z1 subreddit to share his thought process on the whole thing:

"I want to make sure it's clear there are consequences for cheating. You don't just get to make a video and get unbanned. This is a very limited time thing to try and raise awareness of what's actually going on. You may say "hey there clearly aren't consequences if you are unbanning people". Let's get back to the part where I said we've unbanned 3 people. If these videos go far and wide and it elevates the importance of getting rid of the cheaters in PC gaming, I feel it's an excellent trade.

Why?

Here's why. These guys could easily go right back in, make a new steam account.. use an HWID hack and play anyways. Yes, that's the reality. It's ugly, but there it is. And it's true for every single PC game out there. Even the ones that say it isn't.

So is this the right move? I don't know. But doing the same thing we have been doing is a tough fight and I'd like to at least try something different."

So did it work?