Blizzard Cracks Down on Cheating in Overwatch 2
Blizzard is taking significant measures to combat cheating in Overwatch 2, with over 250,000 players already banned under the company’s “zero-tolerance policy towards cheating and botting”. In an official update on their website, the Overwatch 2 team outlined their efforts to address disruptive behavior, cheating, and other issues that negatively affect multiplayer gaming experiences.
The team, known as Defense Matrix, consists of dedicated developers, researchers, and community experts working together to improve existing systems and find new ways to combat these disruptive behaviors. They are guided by two core principles: “Fair is Fun”, which aims to provide an equal playing field for all players, and a “Safe and Inclusive Social Experience” that prevents and discourages harmful behaviors among players.
Over 250,000 Cheaters have been penalized in #Overwatch2 🚨
The team took action against thousands more for grouping up with cheaters, and they are actively addressing inappropriately named custom games and BattleTags.
📰 Read More: https://t.co/mNwc2ltyEI pic.twitter.com/TZB6cNyKr5
— Overwatch Cavalry (@OWCavalry) September 8, 2023
The update confirmed that Blizzard has banned over 250,000 accounts for cheating since Overwatch 2’s launch. The company continues to refine their anti-cheat systems to strengthen the game against cheating and botting. They encourage players to report any suspicious activities or cheating programs they encounter, as player reports help identify new cheats and cheaters.
In addition, the team plans to improve the text chat experience. They emphasize that it is never acceptable for players to engage in disruptive chat behavior, regardless of the language used. As a result, the Unfiltered chat option will be removed entirely due to the presence of harmful language and phrases. The update also encourages players to report any offensive language that bypasses the filters via the in-game reporting options.
In other news, Overwatch 2 recently garnered attention with the appearance of a mysterious hooded figure, who has been revealed as none other than John Cena. As part of the marketing campaign for the game’s upcoming Invasion update, Cena has been working with Blizzard to “interrupt” streams of prominent content creators and provide teasers about the new update.
Blizzard also addressed the impact of “review bombers” on the team, acknowledging that player dissatisfaction stems from the cancellation of a PvE component that was initially promised but ultimately couldn’t be delivered.