No tolerance

On the heels of an incredibly successful beta, Blizzard anticipates that a lot of players will pick up Overwatch at its May 24 launch. And, as with any popular game, there will be plenty of people who want to cheat. Possibly to preempt that, Blizzard has some advice for those folks: Don't even try.

In the battle.net forums, a Blizzard community manager outlined the developer's hardline stance for anyone looking to cheat in Overwatch. "If a player is found to be cheating -- or using hacks, bots, or third-party software that provides any sort of unfair advantage -- that player will be permanently banned from the game. Full stop. Not only does cheating undermine the spirit of fair play that all of our products are based on, but it works to diminish the fun and enjoyment of others."

First-time offenders get permabans. No cheaters pool, no temporary bans -- just an immediate revoking of access to the game. It's not a new look for Blizzard, either. A month after Diablo III's release, Blizzard announced that it'd start permanently banning cheaters.

This is undoubtedly the right approach for Blizzard to take. It's not the same as when Ubisoft considered punishment for people who exploited glitches the developers didn't account for. This is shutting down players who actively and unfairly make the game worse for others, and that's not something that can persist in a healthy multiplayer shooter.

Cheating in Overwatch [battle.net forums]