Although bestselling game Overwatch launched only last week, developer Blizzard Entertainment has already begun permanently banning thousands of users worldwide found to be using hacks and cheating programs.
Users of a popular Overwatch cheat program were banned en masse yesterday, to the point that the program’s creators have shut down the authentication servers until they find a solution. Additionally, Blizzard and Chinese partner NetEase have banned 1572 players, and even went as far as to release their usernames online to the public.
Others have reported that the ban spans multiple copies of the game. One user was banned twice on clean copies of the game after being caught as a hacker on their first copy. Gamers have tried altering their hard drive IDs, MAC addresses, BiosDates, and buying VPNs, all to no avail; they just keep getting re-banned.
These bans are in line with an announcement made by Blizzard on Overwatch forums last month, which emphasized that the company would take cheating very seriously. According to the release, any players found using hacks, bots, or third-party software will be banned permanently, with no exceptions.
Blizzard requests that players report any suspected cheating as soon as possible, either via the right-click report functionality in-game or by emailing [email protected]. Stay honest, gamers!
