Blizzard launches ‘Discipline Tracker’ to name and shame ‘Overwatch’ cheaters

Like many online games, Overwatch has a problem with players cheating. In a competitive environment, people who use exploits or hacks to gain an advantage over others make gameplay less fair and less fun for everyone. Now Blizzard has brought in a new system to name and shame cheaters who break Overwatch’s rules or code of conduct.

The “Discipline Tracker” is a list of the players who have been disciplined by Blizzard for breaking the rules, showing information like the player’s name, their team, and details about what infractions they committed. It only shows players who are part of an Overwatch League team, as it is intended to keep track of players who are part of the league and who must face a review of their conduct by Blizzard before they join. The results of this review are published to the tracker once a player joins the league.

Blizzard describes how the tracker works on their website: “As players join the Overwatch League, the league office conducts a full review of their conduct and, where appropriate, takes disciplinary action. While the league reviews each case on its own, key factors informing the level of discipline include both the severity and recency of the actions under review. During the season, the league office will continue to evaluate infractions and take action as needed.”

The tracker’s use is further clarified by Blizzard, “The following list does not include players who are not currently under contract with an Overwatch League team but might face suspension or fines should they return to league play. In addition, players who have previously served penalties while playing in Contenders are generally not subject to further discipline upon joining the Overwatch League.”

To give you an idea of the scale of the problem of cheating in Overwatch, the tracker was launched one day ago and there are already seven players listed for infractions from account boosting to account selling to throwing matches. And remember, these aren’t casual players sitting at home and messing about — they are professional eSports players who really should know better.

This tracker brings Overwatch as an eSport more into line with traditional sports like tennis or UFC, where governing bodies keep records of professional infractions like doping.