Thousands of Overwatch Hackers Banned by Blizzard
By Dalton Cooper 04 February 2017
In a forum post, Blizzard reveals that it has banned 20,000 South Korean Overwatch players for cheating in the game using DDoS attacks and illegal hacks like aimbots.
Right from the start, Blizzard promised fans of Overwatch that it will take drastic action against those that cheat in the popular online multiplayer shooter by banning them from playing the game. While Overwatch hackers the world over have been banned, the country that seems to be the biggest offender is South Korea, where Blizzard has had to ban tens of thousands of players for cheating in the game. Well, we can add another 20,000 players to the list of people that are no longer allowed to play Overwatch in South Korea.
In a forum post on Blizzard’s South Korean message boards, as translated by Polygon, the company announced that more than 20,000 South Korean Overwatch hackers were banned for using illegal hacks. This widespread ban comes just weeks after Blizzard announced that it had banned 10,000 South Korean players for the same reason.
So far, Blizzard’s effort to keep the South Korean Overwatch community free of hacks seems to be a losing battle. Hacks and cheats like aimbots are rampant in the South Korean version of the game, and the bans don’t seem to deter people from continuously ruining the experience for legitimate players by cheating. While it may be inconvenient for some to have to purchase a new copy of the game and create a new account after they’ve been banned, it seems as though that’s just what some South Korean players are doing, considering the massive number of accounts Blizzard has already banned from the region.
In Blizzard’s defense, it seems like the company is doing its best to stop players from cheating in Overwatch. Beyond banning the accounts of users that are hacking the game, there’s not much the gaming giant can do in this situation, though frustrated South Korean players may stop playing the game if the constant cheating doesn’t stop.
Thanks to the game’s popularity in South Korea, and the rest of the world, Blizzard has reached 25 million registered players for Overwatch, so it would be a shame for that number to drop because of the cheating. With that said, perhaps dedicated South Korean players can be swayed to stick with the game if Blizzard continues to ban large numbers of cheaters, as it has done with its last couple of bans in the country.
Another way Blizzard will be able to retain disgruntled South Korean fans is by keeping Overwatch updated with new content. So far, the company has released a wealth of add-ons for Overwatch in 2017 alone, including the new Oasis map and a suite of new cosmetic options that were added to the game as a part of its recent Year of the Rooster event. If Blizzard continues to provide these content updates on a regular basis while also banning cheaters en masse, it stands a good chance at maintaining and growing its South Korean Overwatch community.
Overwatch is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
