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Blizzard will save players from Overwatch cheaters by shutting down matches

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Blizzard will soon be abruptly shutting down Overwatch matches, in order to save players from having to go through horrible games against cheaters.

Cheaters became a part of Overwatch almost as soon as the multiplayer shooter launched in 2016, but Blizzard has been trying its best to keep the game’s experience as fair as possible. In the latest developer update from game director Jeff Kaplan, it appears that the Overwatch team is further escalating the fight against cheating.

Developer Update | July 2019 Update | Overwatch

Kaplan said in the developer update that Blizzard will be implementing “improved detection” that will result in “the next evolution in cheat detection in the game.”

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Powered by the improved cheat detection, Kaplan said that Overwatch matches will soon automatically end when cheaters are detected. While a specific timeline was not provided for the launch of the feature, Kaplan said that it was already live in the game’s Public Test Region, which means that it is coming sooner rather than later.

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What will happen to the honest players in competitive matches where cheating was detected? Kaplan said that their Skill Rating or SR, will not be affected, whichever team the cheater was on, unlike when they leave games for any other reason. Meanwhile, “very harsh actions” are waiting for the cheaters who will be bold enough to test the reportedly improved cheat detection system of Overwatch.

Kaplan did not provide further details on what improvements will be made on Overwatch‘s anti-cheat system, and the kind of penalties that will be placed on cheaters that it will catch. However, if all goes according to plan, cheaters will not be able to even complete a match, which should be enough of a deterrent against using unfair practices in the game.

In the same developer update, Kaplan said that Overwatch players who have been waiting for the game’s 31st hero will have to wait longer than usual, compared to the usual schedule for the launch of new characters.

“Hero number 31 is going to be awesome,” Kaplan said. “But he’ll be here soon enough, so don’t worry. We think a little bit of extra time is going to make the hero even more awesome.”

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