Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Empress.GG ("the Platform", "the Service", "we", "us", or "our"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to all of these Terms, you may not access or use the Service. These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Empress.GG.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years of age to use the Service. If you are between 13 and 18 years of age (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction), you may only use the Service with the consent of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by these Terms. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet these eligibility requirements.

3. Accounts & Authentication

Empress.GG uses Steam OpenID authentication. By signing in, you authorize us to access your public Steam profile information (Steam ID, display name, and avatar). You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the security of your Steam account credentials
• All activity that occurs under your Empress.GG account
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account

You may only maintain one account on the Platform. Creating additional accounts to evade bans, cooldowns, or for any other purpose is strictly prohibited.

4. Code of Conduct

Empress.GG is a competitive platform built on fair play. By using the Service, you agree to the following:

Prohibited Activities

• Using cheats, hacks, exploits, or unauthorized third-party software that provides an unfair advantage
• Harassing, threatening, abusing, or engaging in toxic behavior toward other users
• Intentionally disrupting matches (griefing, team killing, AFK, abandoning)
• Manipulating rankings through win-trading, boosting, or match-fixing
• Creating multiple accounts (smurfing) or sharing accounts
• Impersonating other users, staff members, or any other person
• Exploiting bugs or vulnerabilities in the Platform rather than reporting them
• Engaging in any form of real-money trading or gambling related to the Service

Communication Standards

All communication through the Platform (including chat, usernames, and profile content) must comply with basic standards of decency. Content that is hateful, discriminatory, sexually explicit, or promotes violence is not permitted.

5. Anti-Cheat & VAC Bans

Empress.GG is committed to maintaining competitive integrity through anti-cheat measures and compliance with Valve's anti-cheat systems. You acknowledge that:

• Accounts with active VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) bans are restricted from Empress.GG matchmaking
• We use automated detection systems to identify cheating behavior, exploits, and unfair advantages
• Cheating detection may be based on in-game statistics, behavioral analysis, and third-party anti-cheat integrations
• Confirmed cheaters will face permanent bans and data removal from leaderboards
• We reserve the right to update our anti-cheat measures without notice

If you believe you have been incorrectly flagged or banned, you may submit an appeal through our support portal. Appeals must include relevant details and will be reviewed within 30 days.

6. Matchmaking & Competitive Integrity

By entering the matchmaking queue, you commit to completing the match. You acknowledge that:

• Abandoning a match results in a cooldown penalty (initial cooldown followed by escalating penalties for repeat offenses)
• Declining a match when offered reduces your queue priority
• MMR adjustments and placements are calculated automatically and are final
• Match results, statistics, and replays may be stored and displayed publicly on your profile and leaderboards
• You must connect to the assigned server within the designated time or forfeit the match
• Cooldown durations are non-negotiable and apply regardless of disconnect reason (intentional or technical)

7. Cosmetic Items & Purchases

Empress.GG offers optional cosmetic items (avatar decorations, profile effects, etc.) available for purchase through Stripe. By purchasing cosmetics, you agree that:

• All cosmetic sales are final. No refunds are provided for digital goods purchased through our platform, except as required by applicable law
• Cosmetics are non-transferable and remain tied to your account
• We reserve the right to retire, modify, or remove cosmetic items from the store at any time
• Cosmetics provide no gameplay advantage and are purely aesthetic
• If your account is suspended or terminated, you lose access to purchased cosmetics without refund
• Stripe handles all payment processing. We do not store credit card information. All transactions comply with PCI DSS standards

Refund Policy

Except where required by law (such as applicable consumer protection regulations), cosmetic purchases are non-refundable. If you experience a legitimate technical issue with a purchase, contact our support team with proof of transaction. In rare cases where a refund is warranted, it will be issued as store credit or a direct refund to your original payment method at our discretion.

8. Enforcement & Penalties

Empress.GG reserves the right to take action against any user who violates these Terms, including but not limited to:

• Temporary cooldowns from matchmaking
• Account suspension (temporary or permanent)
• MMR reset or stat removal
• Removal from leaderboards
• Permanent ban from the Platform

Enforcement decisions are at the sole discretion of the Empress.GG team. We may use automated systems and manual review to detect violations. You may appeal enforcement actions through our support portal within 30 days of the enforcement action.

9. Account Suspension & Termination

Empress.GG reserves the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, if we determine that you have violated these Terms or pose a risk to the Platform, other users, or competitive integrity.

Suspension

Temporary suspensions typically result from minor or first-time violations. During suspension, you cannot access matchmaking or your account. Suspensions are reviewed periodically and may be lifted if we determine the violation has been remedied.

Permanent Termination

Accounts may be permanently terminated for severe violations (cheating, repeated abuse, circumventing bans, etc.). Upon termination:

• Your account is deleted and cannot be recovered
• All cosmetic purchases and in-game items are forfeited without refund
• Your username becomes unavailable for reuse
• Match history is removed from leaderboards but may be retained for statistical purposes

Terminated users are prohibited from creating new accounts. Circumventing a ban through alternate accounts or shared devices will result in hardware bans.

10. Intellectual Property

All content, branding, design, code, and materials on the Platform are the property of Empress.GG or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, or create derivative works from any Platform content without our express written permission. Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike 2, and CS:GO are trademarks of Valve Corporation. Empress.GG is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation.

11. User Content

You retain ownership of any content you create on the Platform (profile information, comments, etc.). By posting content, you grant Empress.GG a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, display, and distribute that content in connection with operating the Service. You are solely responsible for content you post and represent that it does not violate any third-party rights.

12. Service Availability & Disclaimers

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We do not guarantee that:

• The Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free
• Game servers will always be available or perform to any specific standard
• Match results or statistics will be free from errors
• Any defects in the Service will be corrected

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any aspect of the Service at any time without prior notice, including during scheduled or unscheduled maintenance.

13. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Empress.GG and its operators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses resulting from your access to or use of (or inability to access or use) the Service.

14. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to update or modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will notify users through the Platform (via announcement or notification). Your continued use of the Service after such changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. We encourage you to review these Terms periodically.

15. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States, without regard to conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of the Service shall be resolved through good-faith negotiation first, and if necessary, through binding arbitration.

16. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms, please reach out through our support portal or email us at support@empress.gg.