Out this upcoming May 24th, Blizzard Entertainment’s first-person, team-based shooter game, Overwatch has seen a ton of success with its extended Open Beta. Originally slated for an Open Beta from May 5th to May 9th, the positive buzz from fans and reviewers, plus bug prevention and overall constructive criticism received, inspired Blizzard to extend the Open Beta by 24 hours, closed its doors on May 10th.
The game–available to play on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC–will makes its full launch in the next few weeks for an expected price of $40 for PC, and $60 USD on consoles–unlike the free-to-play, similar, Valve created team-shooter Team Fortress 2 (commonly known as, TF2), and also unlike it’s popular/infamous blizzard predecessor World of Warcraft (aka: WOW, destroyer of lives and creator of “video game addiction,” note the sarcastic quotations) which asks for approximately $14 USD per month.
Meanwhile, the May Overwatch Open Beat saw a great ton of positive feedback, as well as helpful and constructive criticism…there may have been a little, wee bit of cheating involved. But (and I can hear the distant roar of it already) “It’s the internet–cheating happens all the time!!”
Well, whether or not you are of that opinion, Irvine, CA-based Blizzard Entertainment is taking a strong and negative stance against any and all cheating. In a forum statement given on Battle.net, developers stand behind a strict “play nice” standpoint, stating:
If a player is found to be cheating—or using hacks, bots, or third-party software that provides any sort of unfair advantage—that player will be permanently banned from the game. Full stop. Not only does cheating undermine the spirit of fair play that all of our products are based on, but it works to diminish the fun and enjoyment of others. While we are unlikely to publicly acknowledge when accounts are closed as a result of cheating or using unauthorized programs, we have and will continue to monitor Overwatch for exploitative behavior, as well as take action as needed to preserve the integrity of game.
This rule is not out-of-the-blue or grandiose, as Blizzard is quick to point out. Other games–even others such as their own (WOW being one of them–even, by our own observation, TF2, who are known for a strict not-bots policy) are known for being vigilant against cheating.
Blizzard is merely looking out for the well-being of their fans and looking to make their most fresh game as fun and fair as possible.
We can look forward to playing Overwatch on our Ps4, Xbox One, or Pc this upcoming May 24th.