Overwatch is a highly competitive game, so the community and the developers never welcome cheating. Blizzard has always been strict on bans in the game, and recently, it just prevented thousands from playing.
Every Overwatch player knows how frustrating it is to play against a cheater in the game. Blizzard knows that as well, which is why the developer doesn’t hold back on giving out bans to those trying to make the game easier. It’s most recent ban wave took out thousands of cheaters from China.
NetEast and Blizzard ban 30,000+ accounts
According to industry insider Danial Ahmad, NetEase and Blizzard have banned exactly 34,433 accounts from the game in China. The bans were recorded during the first half of 2020, the report adds. The violators were flagged for using cheat software. Others, for in-game violations such as toxic behavior.
NetEase and Blizzard have banned 34,433 Overwatch accounts in China during the fist half of 2020, mainly for using cheat software or for other in game violations / behaviour.
Overwatch has sold over 10m copies in China. It is one of the most successful buy to play games there. pic.twitter.com/LC16t37Otp
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) July 6, 2020
The sales figures for the game show that China is one of the countries where Blizzard’s shooter is most financially successful. To date, the game has sold over 10 million units in China. It’s currently one of the most buy-to-play games in the country. Whether or not the bans pose a significant impact on revenue remains to be revealed.
How Blizzard bans
Blizzard bans people who violate a game’s code of conduct. This means offenses such as toxic behavior, using cheats, and many more. As for the case of Overwatch, the community is well aware of the number of cheaters and toxic players in the game. This is pretty much the case with most of today’s online shooters.
Players can report accounts themselves, and they will be notified if Blizzard took action on their report. In some cases, players will be able to join the game once again after a set period. If they still get flagged, they will receive a longer penalty.
In the case of the bans in China, it seems like there are some perma-bans, but there are those who have been given a second shot as well.
For serious and repeat offenders, Blizzard goes as far as dropping permanent bans on players. This is to ensure that the community remains as toxicity free and as fair as possible.
Fans will highly appreciate Blizzard’s recent actions to keep the community clean. The Overwatch community is far from being toxic players and cheater-free, and hopefully, Blizzard drops more ban hammers on offenders of the game.
Image used courtesy of Overwatch/YouTube