LelouchZero
Member
Source (BBC)
Source (Blizzard)
Blizzard
BBC
Ban me if old.
No. Wait, wait, wait!
Source (Blizzard)
Blizzard
”Play nice; play fair" is one of Blizzard's core values. It's something we took to heart in creating Overwatch and remains a priority as we continue to support the game and our players. This not only applies to the new content we develop and the balance changes we make, but also to the features we add or improve upon over time.
We believe that our in-game reporting and player penalty system is one of our most important features, and it's something we want to invest in significantly over the next year. To this end, effective immediately, we will be issuing increased penalties to players in response to verified reports of bad behavior. In Overwatch, that means anything from abusive chat, harassment, in-game spam, match inactivity (being intentionally AFK), and griefing. If you see someone engaging in any of these types of behaviors, report them. Players in violation will be silenced, suspended, or even banned from the game as a result.
We know that making Overwatch a truly welcoming environment is an ongoing process, and this is only the first step. Over the next several months, we have plans to make additional improvements based on your feedback, including scaling competitive season bans, a notification system that will alert you when a player you've reported is actioned, and functionality that will allow us to more aggressively penalize players who attempt to abuse the in-game reporting tool.
We also remain committed to bringing a reporting system to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. As console players ourselves, we know it's been frustrating to not have this functionality on your platform. We are actively working on the feature and have many elements of undergoing internal testing right now. Our goal is to implement similar reporting options as are currently available on PC, and any improvements made to PC between now and when it's available.
Thank you for your vigilance, passion, and commitment to building a welcoming and enjoyable community and helping us make Overwatch the best game it can be.
BBC
Overwatch players will face harsher penalties if they abuse or harass others, developer Blizzard has announced.
The company said "verified reports" of "bad behaviour" would lead to players being silenced, temporarily suspended or banned from the game completely.
Abusing other gamers over voice-chat or deliberately wasting time in games were examples of bad behaviour, it said.
One reviewer said it would make the game more "welcoming" as an e-sport.
"The gaming community has improved, but there are still some toxic elements," said Ellen Rose, co-editor of the gaming channel OutsideXtra.
"It's too easy online to do, and say, what you want and not get any consequences for it.
"Cracking down on that so it's a more fun experience for everyone - especially for newer players - is really good."
Griefing
The company said it would also issue tougher penalties for people who deliberately tried to spoil the game for others, known as griefing.
"You also get people who go into matches just to annoy other people because they think it's funny," said Ms Rose.
"One character, Mei, has an ice wall she can bring up, and some people set up ice walls to trap other players on their own team - or stop them getting a line of sight to shoot."
"Stamping out that sort of behaviour is a good thing."
Blizzard is pitching Overwatch as an e-sports title and in July announced the first seven team owners for a forthcoming league.
Ban me if old.
No. Wait, wait, wait!