Blizzard calls on Overwatch 2 players to stop putting their teammates down
"Our data shows that players rarely win when they start to attack their teammates."
Blizzard has called on Overwatch 2 players to stop putting their teammates down.
In a blog post detailing the work the studio has done to combat cheaters and disruptive players, Blizzard called on the Overwatch community to employ positivity in-game.
"While we can't control how each of you communicates with each other, we can tell you that it matters when it comes to performing well in your games," Blizzard said.
"Our data shows that players rarely win when they start to attack their teammates.
"We can understand the frustration when a teammate may not perform well or play a hero that isn't effectively contributing to the match. While it's always a good idea to encourage ideas and strategies with your teammates, it's not effective to put them down.
"The one consistent factor in every match you play will always be yourself, so always remember to think about how you can positively contribute to the match, discovering ways to turn disadvantages into game-winning strategies.
"It may not necessarily work every match, but you'll always have something to gain when you do."
Blizzard's message is one we've seen before from developers of team-based competitive multiplayer games, and the issue of toxic chat among teammates is as old as the genre itself.
Blizzard said reporting remains the most effective way to combat cheating and toxic behaviour in Overwatch 2, but it also uses machine-learning algorithms to transcribe and identify disruptive voice chat in-game.
"These efforts continue to be successful not only in identifying disruptive chat, but encouraging players who are actioned to change their behaviour for the better," Blizzard said.
"In many cases, players don't realise how they communicate to their teammates can be disruptive and immediately correct their behaviour after receiving a warning. Overall, we're happy with the results of this new tech, and we'll be deploying to more regions and languages in the months ahead."
One interesting related issue in Overwatch 2 has to do with the recent release of new support hero Lifeweaver, who enters competitive play next week.
Blizzard warned players not to use Lifeweaver's Life Grip ability to intentionally pull allies into pitfalls, and said it's keeping a close eye to make sure his abilities aren't used to grief teammates. Again, reporting is the best option here.
However, Blizzard acknowledged Lifeweaver players may accidentally grief their teammates as they get used to the character's kit.
"Making a mistake isn't the same as intentionally sabotaging a teammate, and we hope that everyone can be patient and kind while Lifeweaver continues to grow among our community," Blizzard said.
Elsewhere, Blizzard said it's penalised over 100,000 accounts worldwide it found to be using cheats such as aimbots and wallhacks. Most of these accounts were permanently banned. Blizzard often bans up to 5000 accounts each week, it said.