Game news In the middle of the game, this pro player was banned by Blizzard because of its anti-cheat system that was not completely up to par
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Keeping a competitive game running smoothly is far from easy, and teams are often battling hackers or cheaters one step ahead of them. Many anti-cheat software and policies have been put in place, but this sometimes creates strange situations where doubt sets in.
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Cheating in video games: a never-ending problem
From FIFA to Call of Duty via Counter-Stike, Fortnite, League of Legends or even TFT and Valorant, there is a problem that must constantly be managed: cheating. All competitive games suffer from the presence of dishonest playerswho cheat for comfort, to improve their statistics, or simply to prove that it is possible. Hundreds of thousands of players have been banned different competitive and/or multiplayer titles, but it's a never-ending war. The measures taken and anti-cheating techniques used vary from game to game, but cheaters have always a step ahead.
The stakes are high because, in addition to ruining certain games and distorting the results, cheating candissuade players from continuing to play or purchasing the next game. Some studios ban players directly, others observe them in order to collect as much data as possible, even if it means making them invisible or placing them in special servers. Anyway, it's a permanent struggle, including from Blizzard and Overwatch 2. A few days ago, professional gamer Kai Collins paid the price for the studio's policy aimed at more fair play and more quickly punishing acts of cheating or unauthorized connection to an account.
Banned in the middle of a game: this former Overwatch League star believes he is the victim of a broken anti-cheat system
In the middle of February, the player lost access to his account, banned by Blizzard. The former Overwatch League figurehead said he doesn't understand the situation, supported by many players reporting that recent updates have resulted in wrong bans. Blizzard's message mentioned a direct cheat and that the current game would not be counted. Kai immediately appealed the decision but, on February 18, Blizzard rejected request to overturn baneffectively resulting in the closure of the account and the loss of all progress.
For Kai as for many other players, many suspensions are due to a poorly calibrated and unverified automated anti-cheat detection system. However, Kai's case appears to be different as Blizzard manually rejected the cancellation request, before sending a message announcing reactivating an account that had not been banned. It is difficult to know whether Kai actually cheated or not because several avenues remain open. Either he really cheated and doesn't admit it, or the system actually made a double mistake. In any case, the bans carried out on Overwatch 2 have caused a lot of talk, especially since the suspension of around 250,000 accounts last September for inappropriate nicknames or “disruptive exchanges”.