Overwatch Hacks Creators face Fines and Jail Time
A total of 13 people have been caught and arrested by the South Korean government back in January. The investigation had been requested by Blizzard to the Seoul National Police Agency Cyber Security department. The investigation was targeting those who were creating Overwatch hacks. Fierce sia!
A sentence to 2 years of suspended jail term in October 2017 has been given to one of the creators. This means that he will not go to jail unless he violates his parole.
Another creator of the hacks was fined ₩10,000,000 ($12,400 SGD). The remaining 11 cases are still currently under investigation or in the process of awaiting the court results.
Hacking has been a big problem in Overwatch, especially in the South Korean region. In February, 22,865 Korean hackers had been banned from Overwatch. This gave rise to many complaints from players for Blizzard to clamp down on hacking within the game. It seems like Blizzard has taken a stance and are acting against hacking. Good job la Blizzard.
Overwatch is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Described as a “hero shooter”, Overwatch assigns players into two teams of six, with each player selecting from a roster of over 30 characters, known as “heroes”, each with a unique style of play that is divided into three general roles that fit their purpose. Players on a team work together to secure and defend control points on a map or escort a payload across the map in a limited amount of time. Players gain cosmetic rewards that do not affect gameplay, such as character skins and victory poses, as they play the game. The game was initially launched with only casual play, but a competitive ranked mode, various ‘arcade’ game modes, and a player-customizable server browser were added after release. Additionally, Blizzard has added new characters, maps, and game modes post-release, all free of charge, with the only additional cost to players being optional loot boxes to earn cosmetic items. It was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows in May 2016, and Nintendo Switch in October 2019.
