The Overwatch 2 playerbase reacts to Blizzard’s banhammer
The Overwatch 2 playerbase has been up in arms over the last few days due to Blizzard’s banhammer swinging left and right. The cause? Profanity. And now, it seems Blizzard is even banning players for complementing others, according to one player’s support chat.
The player in question is a high-elo, smalltime content creator called reise_ow, who shared their Blizzard support logs on X (formerly Twitter) on Apr. 18. They tried appealing Blizzard’s decision to ban them for what they said in-game, and got a very strange reply. Apparently, the player was banned for statements including “gg,” “ns,” “f**ck that was clean Hanzo,” and other regular banter. Blizzard labeled these messages “examples of the chat from the account that caused the action,” leading players to believe profanity is not the only one-way ticket to an Overwatch 2 ban.
Blizzard’s ban for profanity sparks controversy
The whole profanity controversy in Overwatch 2 was kicked off by a pro player getting banned for seemingly no reason (thanks Dexerto). It was then revealed that they were banned for saying the “f-word and sh-word,” according to Blizzard’s support representatives. The representatives further noted that “profanity has never been allowed in the company’s games,” and that “if reported, it is absolutely actionable.” This rubbed the community the wrong way, especially those who have been playing Blizzard’s games for years or even decades, as profanity in a competitive setting is nigh-unavoidable.
Reise_ow’s case ignites concerns about Blizzard’s actions
Reise_ow’s example may be proof that Blizzard has gone too far, which even Twitch top dog Asmongold believes. “I don’t see the logic in this,” he said in an Apr. 19 video. Asmongold also thinks Blizzard would save a lot of money by not having to ban players if a profanity filter was on by default, thus blocking any “bad words” coming players’ way.
Only Blizzard itself knows the next steps, however, and hope remains that the company will stop applying these extreme measures. It’s a delicate balance between creating a safe and inclusive gaming environment and allowing players the freedom to express themselves. As the Overwatch 2 community waits for further clarification from Blizzard, the issue of banning players for profanity continues to be a hot topic of discussion.
You be the judge if these are bannable chat logs. Image via reise_ow
