Over the past two weeks, Valve's anti-cheat software automatically banned as many as 12,000 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 soldiers on the grounds of bamboozlement.
The Seattle game developer has since overturned (for non-cheaters) the decision and is offering free copies of the zombie-killing shooter Left 4 Dead 2 as payment for time lost.
"This was our mistake, and I apologize for any frustration or angst it may have caused you," Valve president Gabe Newell wrote in an e-mail to afflicted players, according to a Steam forum user.
Read more of "Valve offers free Left 4 Dead 2 for erroneous Modern Warfare 2 bans" on GameSpot.