Blizzard has recently announced with their new game Overwatch, that they will not hesitate to instantly ban cheaters. In a recent press release Blizzard announced anyone found cheating using methods such aim bots, hacks or any other kind of cheating software will be banned with no warnings. Of course in the interest of fairness anyone who is mistaken to be hacking can appeal and prove their innocence by contacting “hack@blizzard.com”.
As a gamer of many FPS like Overwatch, I strongly agree with Blizzard’s decision. Many people who play these games are just casual gamers and are gaming to have fun, and these cheaters take the fun out of gaming by using characters, such as snipers with automatic aiming software to without a doubt, get that pivotal head-shot. When I was playing the Overwatch beta this weekend, one of my friends suspected we had a couple games where someone was using an aim bot. So its no surprise that Blizzard would not enact this policy considering they already have proof people are breaking the rules. Cheaters are also able to take advantage of Overwatch’s loot and leveling system as the game rewards you based on your level of play in a particular match. This again takes the fun out of the competitive aspect of the game as cheaters would essentially be rewarded with being able to level faster and acquire better loot.
According to a VERY intriguing website called http://www.vac-ban.com/#chart, there is a correlation between a higher amount of bans if the hacking gets you more inventory value. In the site’s chart which follows games, it lists a HIGH spike in bans for Overwatch and lists the amounts of bans, so you can see for yourself that players favor certain games when it comes to cheating. Other games I play like Counter Strike: Global Offensive, do temporary VAC bans if you are found cheating. This ban is put on your profile for everyone to see. Interestingly enough, I was playing this person in a game called Awesomenauts, which is easy to hack. They seemed to be hacking in the game a lot and I thought if they would hack here why not any other game they play. This is one instance, but I think if someone hacks in one game with the software, they are likely to use the same hacking software in another game. So it’s important that like Blizzard more developers and publishers bring down the ban hammer. To conclude, I think customer satisfaction surveys will be high with Blizzard’s new game Overwatch being a game with a “cheat-free environment.” So while the cheaters may not be happy, I am certainly behind Blizzard in this decision.