Overwatch 2 matches are plagued by bots leaving game “unplayable”
BlizzardBeing called a “bot” after a below-par performance on Overwatch 2 is nothing new for many players, but now fans are reporting that real bots are taking over and completely ruining Ranked Play matches.
Overwatch 2‘s competitive mode is supposed to be home to the game’s very best players. This is where those who have spent hours mastering certain Heroes can show their skill and climb up through the ranks.
While Ranked Play has become the go-to mode for many, Blizzard have been forced to fix a number of issues since Overwatch 2 launched, from matchmaking to progression.
Now, it appears that a new problem is affecting competitive games in Overwatch 2, as players are reporting that waves of bots are invading. A number of posts on the Competitive Overwatch subreddit have complained about the issue, claiming it’s completely ruining matches.
A post from ‘Bhu124’ said: “What the hell is going on? I’ve had 12 diff bots in my games in the last 2-3 hours,” before following up with: “The real Overwatch Bot Invasion is happening right now. Even more Bot reports. The game is unplayable for me and a lot of people on Bahrain/GSG servers right now. Every single game has bots.”
They also shared images of how the AI controlled players on the opposing team disrupted the match, offering nothing close to the challenge that fans expect.
They weren’t the only ones who have noticed an influx of bot-controlled accounts in recent weeks. Reddit user ‘stevenyoussef’ also reported an increase in the number of fake players, claiming it’s easy to spot who isn’t being controlled by an actual person.
“So far over the past 2 weeks we’ve seen bots in like 5 games. I don’t mean people who are bad or they aimbot, but as in they’re actually controlled by a bot. They move weird, they hard feed, and they never get over 1k damage or healing,” they said. “Thankfully they’ve always been on the enemy team so I get a free win but I don’t know why they even exist?”
There is no concrete explanation as to why bot accounts are suddenly dominating Overwatch 2 Ranked Play, but there are plenty of theories.
One of the most popular is that these accounts are designed to rack up hours of low-skill gameplay to ensure they stay at a low rank. Then, high-skilled players can purchase the profile and dominate as they’re matched into lower-tier lobbies.
Blizzard are yet to address this issue, but players will hoping the devs take action in the lead-up to Overwatch 2 Season 8, which is also set to bring a new Tank Hero.