Blizzard is getting serious about punishing Overwatch players for boosting and throwing

Punishments for players who cheat in Overwatch are about to get more severe, according to Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan. And that shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise to those who follow Overwatch. Kaplan has spoke at length about the developer’s disdain for boosting, which is when a more skilled player pairs with a lower skilled competitor to boost the lower ranked player to a higher skill tier. Boosting also includes having a higher skilled player level up a lower skilled player’s account. In early April, Kaplan wrote that Blizzard was working on the boosting issue—and now the developer said a solution could be coming soon. “Penalties for boosting and throwing are about to increase dramatically,” Kaplan said. “Please report the behavior.” Reporting is only available for PC Overwatch players at this time, though Kaplan suggested it will come to console eventually. Players who throw games—or intentionally lose—will also see increased punishments for their bad behavior. Throwing often goes hand in hand with boosting, as many boosters have to throw games to derank enough to carry low level players. South Korea is also looking to rid itself of boosting in competitive video games. The country’s government recently proposed a law that would make boosting punishable with a fine and jail time. Companies that sell boosts are likely the big target for the proposed South Korean anti-boosting bill. And if it passes, it sounds like Blizzard will be pleased, too.