Overwatch 2 fans celebrate ban wave against 'clowns' using MnK on console

Every competitive FPS title suffers from cheaters who use third-party software to gain an unfair advantage, and Overwatch 2 is certainly no different.

The biggest problem for the OW2 community hasn't been aimbots but bad actors using mouse and keyboard adapters called XIMs.

These devices allow competitors to have the precision of MnK, while also gaining access to the aim assist usually only provided to those on controller.

Finally, Blizzard is cracking down on these cheaters with "permanent bans" and OW2 players are over the moon these "clowns" are going to get punished.

Overwatch 2 announces crackdown on console players using MnK

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In a recent April 18 blog post, Senior Game Producer Adam Massey addressed the unapproved peripherals situation on consoles and the steps being taken to combat these cheaters.

For starters, the devs have had an XIM detection system in "place for multiple seasons, passively gathering data for us to analyze." They've noticed that these devices are rarely used in the Bronze to Plat ranks, but are very common in Grand Master and Champion.

Beginning in Season 11, players who are detected using an unapproved peripheral on a console will be restricted from Competitive for one week. Suspended competitors will still have access to Quickplay during this time.

If they cease to use the device, they will be fully banned from Competitive and forced to play with only MnK players in Quick Play for the entire season. For those who have used and are still using XIMs ahead of Season 11, the devs will be handing out "permanent bans" for the most "severe abusers."

Blizzard has made it clear these actions will be targeted at "high-ranked players who have been reported by others and who our data clearly shows are using an unapproved peripheral."

OW2 fans over the moon "glorious" ban wave is coming for cheaters

This news has been overwhelmingly praised by the Overwatch 2 community, who are over the moon Blizzard is finally fixing a problem that has plagued matchmaking for years.

On the Overwatch subreddit, users are celebrating that "console OW" may be back and playable again after so many XIM users completely took over the majority of matches.

"Hope it helps the console players rank up once these clowns are kicked out," said one user, with another claiming, "Holy f**k, they’re actually doing it, I must be dreaming, time to go see if I can fly."

This a huge win for Blizzard, but we'll have to wait until Season 11 to truly test the quality of the detection system. Let's hope the days of XIM console lobbies are over, and players can finally compete in fair matches for once.