A major ban wave has revealed a cheater problem in Overwatch 2.
When the Overwatch sequel was first announced, the gaming community was worried that they would have to pay for a second Overwatch despite feeling the game was similar to the original. They were pleasantly surprised when Overwatch 2 developers announced the sequel was free to play.
But becoming free to play comes with its own set of issues, including an increase of hackers and cheaters. Other free-to-play games like Call of Duty: Warzone,
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
and PUBG are constantly dealing with an oppressive amount of players using hacks to have an unfair advantage. That’s because free games allow players to make an endless amount of accounts on top of other ways to continue getting around bans.
Now, a report from Overwatch’s Korean forums has confirmed that Blizzard is working on this ongoing issue.
First ban wave reveals rampant cheating in Overwatch 2
On a
Korean Overwatch forum, Blizzard announced that the first ban wave has removed thousands of bad actors from the sequel.
On October 26, 3,486 accounts were banned for using unauthorized programs.
It’s unfortunately no surprise to see so many sketchy accounts in Overwatch 2. Blizzard implemented SMS verification when the game initially launched in an attempt to prevent cheaters from making new accounts since their phone numbers would already be tied to another. Unfortunately, there was a major backlash to this and developers had to remove it.
Now, Overwatch 2 has become a hotbed for cheaters. And many of the emboldened hackers don’t even seem like they’re trying to hide it.
Blizzard is currently working on an anti-cheat program and is in the process of hiring people to be a part of this project. But that’s most likely far off in the future. For now, players will have to deal with hackers and cheaters in matches winning Play of the Game between Blizzard’s ban waves. It’s currently unclear when the next one will be.
Olivia Richman
About Olivia Richman
Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.
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