Huge Overwatch ban wave wipes out thousands of cheaters in August update

In a continuous effort to drown out cheaters in Overwatch, Blizzard has announced another huge ban wave that struck down more than 18,000 suspicious accounts.

While Overwatch may be into its sixth year on the market, that doesn’t mean the multiplayer experience is flawless just yet. As with most major multiplayer titles, the issue of cheating runs rampant in Blizzard’s popular hero shooter.

Article image

While the developers have outlined plans tostamp down smurf accountsin the long run, pesky hackers continue to be a problem. Before we get to Overwatch 2, however, a more dedicated effort has been made to minimize the cheating crisis.

After10,000 accounts were bannedearlier in 2021, Blizzard has now revealed thousands more Overwatch players have been barred from the title.

Zenyatta trick with tranc

Since the initial cheating update in May, Blizzard has actively been shutting down hackers in Overwatch. Over the past three months, 24,003 accounts have been shut down in total.

Following on from this collective effort, another considerable ban wave was sent out on August 24. This single strike knocked down another 18,003 troublesome accounts.

Blizzard update

“This is all part of our ongoing commitment to anti-cheat efforts,” Overwatch Community Manager AndyBsaid.

Evidently, the in-game report function appears to have led to many of these recent bans.

overwatch mei tracer reinhardt

“Please continue to use the report feature in-game,” the dev stressed.

While a lack of fresh content has theOverwatch community frustrated of late, the continuous banwaves should keep the remaining player base that little bit safer online.

Overwatch 2 heroes

With more and moremalicious hacksappearing in recent updates, there’s no better time for Blizzard to clamp down on the cheating issue.

How many people play Overwatch 2? Player count tracker (August 2025)

Overwatch 2 players who main these heroes are in for a shock very soon

Overwatch 2 streamer caught cheating after forgetting to turn off wallhacks