Blizzard has banned over a quarter of a million players for cheating since Overwatch 2 launched in October, according to the newest update, which outlines the “zero-tolerance approach” the game is taking against cheating and disruptive behaviour in-game.
In the update, which goes into detail about the “latest efforts to bring a positive and fair gameplay experience to Overwatch 2,” Blizzard outlined the “big steps” being taken by a “dedicated task force of developers, researchers, and community experts, all working to improve our existing systems while finding new ways to counter disruptive behaviours.”
The task force is part of efforts to make the experience of playing Overwatch 2 fair, safe, and inclusive for all players, with the multi-pronged effort being called Defense Matrix (aptly named after one of D.Va’s abilities).
Of the other key updates coming to Overwatch 2 is a change to text chat, which previously offered three settings; Unfiltered, Mature, and Friendly. Starting this season, unfiltered text chat will no longer be an option – Blizzard says it has made this move as “this allowed harmful language and phrases that have no place in our community.” Blizzard also committed to continuing the use of machine-learning algorithms to detect disruptive behaviours in voice chat as well.
Beyond toxic text and voice chat, cracking down on cheating is a key area of focus for Overwatch 2, according to the update. “Cheaters are never fun to play with, and we have a zero-tolerance policy toward cheating and botting in Overwatch 2. Since Overwatch 2’s launch, we’ve detected and banned over 250,000 accounts for cheating,” the post said. “We’re continuously refining our anti-cheat detection and prevention systems to strengthen the game against cheating and botting.”
The decisive action on banning cheaters in-game also extends to suspending and banning those that “conspicuously group with cheaters in an attempt to benefit from the cheating” in Overwatch 2. Blizzard added that already, thousands of accounts had received disciplinary action for doing so, and confirmed that “the rollout of this system in regional tests has proven successful, and we’ll be expanding to new regions worldwide.”
Blizzard also promised to “improve timely feedback on…reports,” including “providing more consistent log-in notifications when your reports result in successful actions against misconduct” as opposed to the common issue in many multiplayer and online games that sees reports seemingly disappear into the ether with no clear update on whether any action has been taken.
Overwatch 2 isn’t the only game providing more in-depth updates on improving player communities and cracking down on toxicity in recent months, both in regards to disruptive voice and text chat – which has been an ongoing issue for many multiplayer games including Call of Duty (which Activision recently announced would introduce AI voice chat moderation) – as well as cheating and exploits.
Time will tell whether the combined efforts make a major difference to the Overwatch 2 community, but with over a quarter of a million accounts already banned as part of the work to make playing fairer and safer, it’s safe to say that there’s definitely work being done.
Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Leave a Reply