Breakdown
- Blizzard has decided to take action against console players using mouse and keyboard in Overwatch 2's competitive game mode.
- They will be suspending, limiting pools for, and outright banning some accounts that are abusing mouse and keyboard tools in Overwatch 2 competitive.
- They plan on adding mouse and keyboard support for console in the near future but the implementation hasn't been finalised yet.
Blizzard has decided to take a heavy-handed approach towards Overwatch 2 players using consoles with 'unapproved peripherals', such as mouse and keyboards by suspending them from competitive and outright banning them in certain cases.
The developers recently released a blog post where they broke down the reasoning for their new policy, what they classify as unapproved, and how they plan on dealing with such players.
They explained their reasoning for the terminology, "Unfortunately, some players on console have been using devices that allow them to use a mouse and keyboard while tricking the console into thinking that the inputs are coming from a controller."
They specified that the use of these devices is most prominent in the higher ranks of competitive Overwatch 2 play on console. While it exists in the lower ranks, it's far less frequent. Therefore, Blizzard will be focusing their attention on the higher ranks.
They explained that they're going to be using a two-phase strategy to deal with players who have been flagged by their detection systems. The first phase involves a week long ban from competitive play that will lift once they stop using these devices.
However, if a player is caught making use of these even after the first warning, they will be
"They are welcome to continue playing Overwatch 2, but they will be playing against players who use a similar control setup to their own." they clarified.
However, the group facing the most severe punishment will be high-ranked players who have been using unapproved peripherals before season 11. These players will receive immediate and permanent bans.
Blizzard reiterated their code of conduct once more and stated "For console players using these unapproved peripherals who do not want their account banned, the only way to evade these bans is to cease using an unapproved peripheral right now. There will be no other warnings!"
The new policy has actually been met with a ton of approval from the Overwatch 2 community who has had enough of people abusing mouse and keyboard on console. These players had become a source of frustration due to the unfair advantage provided to them.
Blizzard also discussed a potential place for mouse and keyboard users on console in the near future. However, they'd have to balance this a ton to make it fair and are currently planning keeping them in a separate pool.
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