Overwatch 2 devs have reduced leaver penalties to be more lenient on players

Overwatch 2 devs are reducing leaver penalties in Quick Play games to be more lenient to players who are disconnecting for reasons “beyond their control”. 

Over the past weeks, Overwatch’s bans and suspension process has been put under a microscope, with players claiming to be getting bans for games they weren’t deliberately exiting amid leaver penalties getting harsher. 

In response to the community outcry, Overwatch’s devs have announced they will be calming down on the leaver penalties, however, only for Quick Play as of now. 

Leaver Penalties reduced in #Overwatch2 ⚠️

They aim to be more lenient towards those in Quick Play who may leave for reasons beyond their control:

🔌 Leaving 2-3 Games: 2 minute suspension
🔌 Leaving 4-5 Games: 10 minute suspension
🔌 Leaving 6-9 Games: 2 hour suspension pic.twitter.com/LRS6PaaXYJ

— Overwatch Cavalry (@OWCavalry) April 30, 2024

Announced with the release of the April 30 update, leaver penalties for Quick Play have been introduced to reduce suspension times. 

“Our goal is to adjust our queue suspension times to not be as impactful for those who may leave for reasons beyond their control, while still staying firm on those who are deliberately leaving multiple games,” the devs said of the change. 

With the new reductions, players can expect to be hit with the following penalties: 

• Leaving 2 or 3 of your last 20 games played will result in a 2-minute suspension 
• Leaving 4 to 5 of your last 20 games played will result in a 10-minute suspension 
• Leaving 6 to 9 of your last 20 games played will result in a 2-hour suspension 
• Leaving 10 or more games of your last 20 games will still result in a 48-hour suspension

These suspensions will affect your ability to queue most modes. Most of the penalty times were reduced by half, except for the punishment of leaving 10 or more games which remains at 48-hours.