Since the latest patch, a bug has been plaguing Overwatch on the Xbox One, which can lead to an unplanned end of a match for many players. The cause of the crashes after the update seems to be a hamster.
What is the hamster up to? The hamster Hammond, known in Overwatch as Wrecking Ball, is currently crashing many Overwatch players’ games. It seems to be reproducible and not random.
When Hammond uses his ultimate ability, a minefield appears on the battlefield. If an ally of Wrecking Ball uses their ultimate ability while the minefield is active, the game will crash for one of his opponents.
Some players report that it doesn’t even matter who uses their ultimate after Hammond. Both friends and foes can cause one of Hammond’s opponents to be kicked from the game (via dotesports).
Overwatch crashes on Xbox One
Who is affected by the bug? According to the first reports, the problem only affects players on the Xbox One. PS4 and PC players do not seem to be affected by the issue.
The bug appears to be present on the Xbox One in every mode. Players are advising others on reddit to avoid playing ranked matches currently, as they could get kicked out and unnecessarily lose points or receive bans.
The bug has apparently been in the game since the last patch on June 18, 2019. Wrecking Ball itself was not the target of the many changes that were made. However, this is not the first bug that has occurred due to Hammond:
What can I do against the bug? Currently, there is no fix for the bug yet. However, one should be coming soon, as it is “gamebreaking,” meaning it has a clear impact on winning and losing.
In the meantime, we advise against intentionally triggering the bug. Exploiting such glitches is usually met with severe penalties from Blizzard. Those who use the bug as an “exploit” risk a permanent ban and thus their account.
Moreover, the advantage is quite minimal. In quick play, new opponents quickly take the place of the ejected enemy, causing little more than frustration. In ranked matches, it’s unlikely many wins can be achieved before the bug is fixed.
The bug is currently particularly annoying for Xbox players, as an event is running that requires you to earn victories:
