Weve always taken cheating in Blizzard games very seriously, and that stance is no different for Overwatch. Play nice; play fair is one of our core values as a company, and its something weve taken to heart not only when designing the game, but also as weve developed our plans to support it and our players after launch.
What does this mean for Overwatch? If a player is found to be cheatingor using hacks, bots, or third-party software that provides any sort of unfair advantagethat 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 we are unlikely to publicly acknowledge when accounts are closed as a result of cheating or using unauthorized programs, we have and will continue to monitor Overwatch for exploitative behavior, as well as take action as needed to preserve the integrity of game.
These assertions arent new or groundbreaking for Blizzard, but theyre important and serve as a reminder of our commitment to delivering epic gameplay experiences. For us, its not just about creating awesome games, but about supporting those games and their communities for years to come. The upcoming launch of Overwatch on May 24 is in many ways just the beginning, and were doing all that we can to prepare for that milestone and (perhaps more importantly) what comes afternot just in terms of new game content, but also how we can ensure a fair and equitable play environment for everyone.
