Blizzard Names 18,000 Banned South Korean Overwatch Players

Overwatch

If you play Overwatch, you will be aware of how Blizzard has been taking very proactive steps to ensure that the community is as ‘clean’ as possible. Through the use of in-game reports, Blizzard has been regularly handing out suspensions or bans against anyone they feel is not acting within the ‘ethos’ of the game. The term ‘toxic’ is used a lot without any particular specification. In Overwatch, however, this can range from spouting abuse in the chat to deliberately throwing games.

It seems, however, that Blizzard’s South Korean office has taken an unusual step. Following a post on their official blog, the developer has ‘named and shamed’ over 18,000 people who have been banned from the game.

Ban List!

The forum post can be read in full here. It is, however, in Korean, so I hope you’ve brushed up on your translating skills. A quick glance at the page, however, reveals just how prevalent the ban-hammer has been within the country. This is neither, incidentally, the first time that such a list has been published. At least, not in South Korea. This is without a doubt though, the most comprehensive list made public to date.

Competitive Gaming

South Korea takes its gaming very seriously. How much? Well, lets put it this way, boosting an account (inflating the skill level) can lead to a custodial sentence. Yes, you can go to prison for it! The ‘anti-toxic’ system Blizzard is implementing isn’t without its critics. It is believed though to be working with around a 25% decrease reported in America.

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!