Everything can be hacked, and everyone who tries to hack or fix Overwatch matches is sure to be investigated by Blizzard.
Back in January, thirteen Overwatch hackers and match-fixers were arrested by the South Korean government. Blizzard then announced on the Korean Overwatch forum that suspects were brought into the Koran prosecutors office under violation of the Game Industry Promotion Law and the Information and Communication Technology Protection Law.
“Blizzard had requested a thorough investigation to the Seoul National Police Agency Cyber Security Department regarding the domestic illegal program developers in the black market that include hacking and match fixing,” Blizzard wrote. “The investigation has lasted one year from January 2017 to December 2017. After a long period of examination a total of 13 suspects have been sent to the public prosecutor’s office under allegations of violating the Game Industry Promotion Law and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Protection Law.”
An amendment to the Game Industry Promotion Act last June brought stricter punishments for those caught boosting or hacking. Those caught will likely face up to two years in jail and an 18 thousand dollar fine.
On Monday, one of the 13 hackers that were arrested was sentenced to two years of probation, meaning he will only go to jail if he violates that probation. This comes as the first “official ruling” against the suspects. Another suspect was fined 10 million won, which translates to just under 10 thousand dollars, in January.
The 11 remaining cases are currently under investigation by the South Korean prosecutor’s office.
The issue of South Korean hackers has been plaguing Blizzard for a while now. A large factor at play here are gaming cafe rules that once made it hard to track accounts. In the first two months of 2017 alone Blizzard banned more than 23 thousand Overwatch accounts for using various cheats. Last February, Blizzard changed the way the game is accessed in cafes in an effort to reduce the rampant cheating in South Korea.
Unfortunately, hacking and cheating is a major problem around the world, but Blizzard is pushing against it hardest in South Korea and the United States.
Even the professional levels of Overwatch haven’t been able to escape from the prevalence of cheating. Multiple players in the Overwatch League have been punished for boosting since the league’s launch last year. A Dallas Fuel player, Son “OGE” Min-seok, was suspended for four games for boosting, and Philadelphia Fusion tank Kim “Sado” Su-min is currently under a 30-game suspension for more serious allegations of boosting.
Though hacking and cheating is a common issue for Overwatch, it is encouraging to see Blizzard doing its best to ensure the game remains fair and fun for its massive player base.