More than 18,000 Overwatch players in South Korea have been punished for toxic behavior.
A new year begins with good resolutions and in Overwatch by Blizzard, this is clearly the intention to create a more peaceful and friendly gaming community. Many players in South Korea have now experienced this, as they will not be able to play for a while in 2019. More than 18,000 players have been punished.
What happened? Blizzard has released a list of 18,188 players from South Korea in the official forum who have either been temporarily sanctioned or permanently banned.
As is customary in South Korea, the names of banned or sanctioned players are made public and can be viewed by everyone. This is quite normal in South Korea, whereas it does not happen in the West. Here, players are usually only informed personally.
What were the players punished for? The primary reason for the punishments was not cheating or dishonesty, but the toxicity of the players, such as:
- being afk during the game
- intentional throwing
- offensive chat
- harassment
Harsh penalties also for us? It is unclear whether many players in Europe and America have been subjected to account penalties as well. After all, lists of banned players are not published here, and penalties are only quietly pronounced.
However, it can be assumed that bans also occur regularly and in larger waves in regions outside Asia.
Blizzard is working on the community: Especially in Overwatch, the behavior of some players can often be a problem that can greatly spoil the fun for everyone else. Therefore, the developers are working hard on better systems to filter out toxic players. Just last year, an improved reporting system was introduced, and positive rewards through endorsements were implemented at the same time.
Those who cheat in the Overwatch League are publicly shamed.
