18,000 Overwatch accounts punished for toxicity in South Korea

Lately, one of the best feelings in Overwatch is when I log in and I find out that someone I’ve reported has been punished. It’s a good feeling that propels me forward into my matches, knowing that justice has been delivered. On Jan. 2, Blizzard banned, suspended, and punished 18,000 Overwatch players for toxicity, which is the same thing but scaled up, and I’m a fan.

The Korean players banned are listed on the official Blizzard forums, and they were found guilty for throwing games, harassing teammates, slurs, going AFK, and other offenses worth punishment. This is a common practice in South Korea, and Blizzard publishes the list of banned players at the end of every season.

Blizzard has been working on creating a better player environment actively since September 2017, when the team posted a developer update entitled “Play Nice, Play Fair.”

Since then, Blizzard has focused on reporting and punishing toxic behavior in Overwatch. That includes behavior outside the game; users who share clips and embed their social media with Overwatch can be subject to punishment. This recently included an initiative that tied Twitch accounts to Battle.net for moderating chat.

“If you are a bad person doing bad things in Overwatch, we don’t want you in Overwatch,” game director Jeff Kaplan said in the Play Nice, Play Fair developer update. It seems the developer is holding true to that, even if it means banning 18,000 accounts.