Blizzard protects Overwatch players with new anti-cheat feature

Overwatch players have discovered a very helpful new feature on the current patch. A new anti-cheat feature from Blizzard aims to stop penalties against innocent players in games with hackers.

Overwatch has been renowned for its being difficult to cheat effectively. Many popular players have destroyed cheaters on stream due to the game’s higher emphasis on game sense, teamwork, and communication. Despite this, hackers are still fairly common.

Lead Jeff Kaplan teased late last year that Overwatch would be getting major updates soon and the trend has continued with this most recent change.

A pleasant surprise

Redditor u/MentallyUnstableMan was the first to report the change on the Competitive Overwatch subreddit. In games with a cheater, neither side receives a win or loss and the offender is banned. A pop-up appears after the end of the game where a hacker is detected, informing players of the decision.

Nothing regarding the anti-cheat change was noted in any patch notes. Users speculate that this was intentional to stay one step ahead of cheaters. The change could also be part of wider experimentation on whether to stop games halfway through.

A rampant problem

Overwatch has struggled with cheaters over the years. While this is a positive step, it doesn’t go to the heart of the problem.

Popular Twitch streamer Felix “xQc” Lengyel had a game ruined just this week. A toggling aimbot Tracer player was discovered when he reviewed footage post-game. xQc let his frustration be very well known. Lengyel claims the player had been cheating all week and that Blizzard had done nothing.

For more Overwatch content, see our coverage of the Hangzhou Spark’s recent transfers. Or for something more in-game related, check out our piece on Sung-hyeon “JJoNak” Bang’s new in-game Octopus-themed MVP skin.