Blizzard Has Banned Over 250,000 Cheaters in Overwatch 2
Since launch, Overwatch 2 has banned 250,000 cheaters, and it's coming for hangers-on soon.
Overwatch 2 hasn't been as wildly popular as the original game, but it still has tons of fans hopping into its competitive hero-shooter action. Because so much of the game is focused on PvP, players are always looking for a way to get an edge. Some of those players even look to illegal methods, cheating to get a leg up. Many of those players have found themselves on the end of a ban, as Blizzard announced recently that it has banned over 250,000 Overwatch 2 players since the game launched last year. It's unlikely that is the reason behind the game's recent dwindling playerbase, but it's certainly not helping.
What it is helping Overwatch 2's friendly competition. In its latest Defense Matrix blog post, developer Blizzard Entertainment detailed some of the steps it is taking to improve its cheat detection tools. Blizzard noted that it is governed by two core ideas: "Fair is Fun" and fostering a "Safe and Inclusive Social Experience." With those two things in mind -- and the fact that it's already banned a quarter million players -- Blizzard's next steps should make things even tougher for cheaters and their friends to gain any advantage.
What is Overwatch 2 Doing to Improve its Anti-Cheat Tools?
The first thing Blizzard is doing to improve Overwatch 2's anti-cheat is to continue working on its machine-learning algorithms. The team has been slowly rolling it out over new regions and will continue to do so until it's worldwide. It also noted that the tools have proven to work well, as most players "improve their disruptive behavior after their first warning." If that's true, that's good news for Overwatch 2's player count. It's much better to rehabilitate players than to ban them entirely.
After that, the team makes several notes on how it has been going about deciding on bans and pointing to the value of reporting cheaters. However, the biggest announcement might be that Blizzard is actively working to suss out players who might not be cheating themselves, but are partnering with cheaters to get an unfair advantage. Obviously, there's nuance here. Just because you end up on the same team as a cheater doesn't mean your account is automatically flagged. Blizzard has been fine-tuning the system and will be rolling it out worldwide over the coming months.
What Changes Are Coming to Overwatch 2's Competitive Mode?
In the latest Director's Take, Game Director @aaronkellerOW takes a look at the future of Competitive Play.
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) September 8, 2023
🗒️ https://t.co/wgpz8OQJ5h pic.twitter.com/UhmhcYVBLm
When the updated anti-cheat news was announced, Blizzard also dropped a new development blog for Overwatch 2's competitive mode. There, game director Aaron Keller noted that the team is aware of players complaining about not being given enough information about their ranking. He said that changes won't be coming immediately, but the team is "shifting our values to provide more transparency." This doesn't mean players should expect the same system Blizzard had in the original game, but it should mean you'll start to have a better understanding of how and why your rank is changing as the game moves forward
