Blizzard is taking a firm stance against cheaters in their upcoming team-based FPS, Overwatch. There will be no warnings, no strikes, and no temporary suspensions. Get caught even once and you're out. As community manager Lylirra puts it on the Battle.net forums:
"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. Not only does cheating undermine the spirit of fair play that all of our products are based on, but it works to diminish the fun and enjoyment of others."
While the company has always argued against exploiting its games and warned would-be cheaters about the possibility of bans, this feels like the most hardline stance its ever taken - possibly due to Overwatch's nature as an exclusively competitive game.
Blizzard will investigate players who are reported through the in-game client, but Lylirra has some things to consider before you report someone as a l33t haxor: playback through the game's camera doesn't always accurately reflect what happened, bugs can make it appear as though someone is cheating, and my favorite of all, maybe they're just that good.
"Some players are just really good at first-person shooters," Lylirra writes. "Through practice and years of experience, these players’ movements and reaction times can occasionally appear unnatural (if not physically impossible)." I just really like the idea that we have superhumans living among us, with heightened senses and reflexes. And they're playing video games.
But seriously, don't cheat.
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