Overwatch 2 has “enacted” over 23,000 “actions” against cheaters after rolling out a new system to find and detect players who use mouse and keyboard in console lobbies, a practice known as ximming.
While “enacted” doesn’t necessarily mean all 23,000 accounts were banned outright, Blizzard says that brings the overall total of banned accounts to over 1m players.
“The new Mouse and Keyboard support will impact how we action users who previously used unapproved third-party peripherals to gain an advantage over players in the Controller Pool,” Blizzard explained in a new blog post. “Bypassing the set restrictions in that pool with unapproved peripherals will be considered cheating and actions will be taken on your account.
“Previously, we deployed technology to help find and detect players who were using those peripherals on consoles. We enacted over 23,000 actions against players since that deployment. This included players who were directly using unapproved peripherals as well as players who grouped up with them to benefit from that unfair advantage.”
Blizzard then admitted that it had to “adapt to new workarounds” but was now ready to “take more aggressive actions against those who try to circumvent the competitive integrity of our console players.”
“We’ve rolled out new tech for Season 18 that should help us spot players that use unapproved peripherals faster and with more reliability,” the post added. “We’re also laying down harsher consequences on users of unapproved peripherals, since the legitimate opportunity to compete using Mouse and Keyboard on an even playing field is now available, regardless of whether you own a PC or console.”
Previously, the team would “warn and restrict” any offenders and send them to the PC Pool, especially for cheats playing at Competitive levels above Diamond.
Now, however, “continuing to use unapproved peripherals and devices in the Controller Pool will result in a full game account ban regardless of the player’s rank or mode”.
The recent action has resulted in over one million accounts being banned from playing Overwatch 2. This includes players who used aimbots, wallhacks, and other cheats, as well as those who grouped up with known cheaters.
“While the effort to stop cheaters and the cheats they use is an ongoing effort, we want to reiterate our commitment to ensuring the outcome of every Overwatch match is determined by skill and passion, and not through unfair advantages,” Blizzard added.
Aside from the Stadium update, Overwatch 2 Season 18 introduced significant changes, including heroes Wuyang, Pharah, Winston, and Brigitte, plus the Route 66 and London maps, new game modes, new All-Star rewards, Endorsements, and more.