Blizzard being ruthless with its Overwatch cheating bans

Those who decide to cheat at Overwatch can expect the very harshest retaliation from developer Blizzard.

In an age where PC players of titles like Dark Souls 3 and The Division have to endure some quite serious hacking among the online community, Blizzard says it is determined to make sure Overwatch is a safe haven – and early signs are that it is not lying.

PC Gamer reports that 1,572 players have been banned (and named) in China alone, while Western forums are quickly filling up with posts lamenting account bans.

One user, who admits to using a d3d11 wallhack during the beta, even claims to have taken drastic steps to try and bypass the ban, going as far as changing their drive ID, MAC address, processor ID, BiosDate, IP address and using a VPN – and purchasing the game four times – all to no avail. They are now pondering a complete OS wipe in an effort to change their HWID, which they believe could be being used to track them.

We’ve recently taken action against Overwatch accounts worldwide which were found to be using cheat programs,” Blizzard said. We’re committed to providing an equal and fair playing field for everyone in Overwatch, and will continue to take action against those found in violation of our Terms of Use. Cheating of any form will not be tolerated.

If you believe another player is cheating or you have information pertaining to the use of hacks, bots, or unauthorized third-party software in Overwatch, please let us know.”

The studio added that its support staff will not overturn these closures and may not respond to appeals".