Cheating is an issue in online games, and Blizzard is anticipating that cheaters may inevitably be an issue that they have to deal with in their upcoming team-based FPS, Overwatch. In a forum post written today, the developer talked about the penalties it’s imposing towards those who choose to cheat in the game.
“If a player is found to be cheating–or using hacks, bots, or third-party software that provides any sort of unfair advantage–that player will be permanently banned from the game. Full stop,” they wrote.
At Blizzard, playing nice and playing fair is a core value of the studio’s games, so it stands to reason that they would have a zero tolerance policy towards those who break the rules.
The studio is taking a firm stance against cheaters because it believes that foul play undermines the spirit of the game and also hurts how others experience Overwatch. This is kind of a no-brainer.
Blizzard stressed that it has systems in place to monitor the game to flag players who engage in what it calls “exploitative behavior” and says it will take action wherever and whenever necessary.
“We’ve always taken cheating in Blizzard games very seriously, and that stance is no different for Overwatch.”
That being said, Blizzard isn’t planning on publicly shaming those cheaters, or even acknowledging that their accounts have been banned as a result of cheating or using unauthorized programs for an advantage in the game.
These safeguards will not be the only things in place to keep the game fair: players will also be able to use the player-reporting feature to alert the developer of any suspicious behavior. Players who have knowledge of hacking programs and cheats can also contact Blizzard directly at hacks@blizzard.com. Blizzard says that they will not respond to e-mails sent there, but that it actively monitors any emails sent there.
The company says that it has already banned players who were cheating earlier in the beta. We’re sure that even more players will face their banhammer in the months to come.
Overwatch will release on the PC, Xbox One and PS4 on May 24.
