Overwatch players reportedly banned just for playing on Linux in recent banwave

Overwatch players who use Linux are getting banned en masse after Blizzard reportedly failed to test anti-cheat changes on Wine, a program that allows games like Overwatch to work on the operating system.

Normally, Overwatch players rejoice when Blizzard dishes out large-scale ban waves. It typically means that thousands of cheaters and hackers have been removed from the community.

However, when there’s a mix-up that sees innocent players getting banned, it’s anything but good news. And that’s what’s reportedly happened to many players who use Linux.

Hundreds of players left comments in this thread expressing their frustration with getting banned for using the operating system.

It’s not the first time it has happened.  However, according to former Overwatch pro Carter ‘Carter’ Smith, the scale is far bigger than any time before.

“Blizzard toted a ban count of 10,000 this past week on forums,” he said. “They also banned every single person who plays Overwatch on Linux by mistake in that ban wave.”

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He explained that the game is “very popular” among players who use the open-source operating system and slammed Blizzard for “not testing” anti-cheat changes on Wine despite knowing that thousands of players use it.

Blizzard hasn’t issued an official statement on the situation yet. However, they’ve overturned accidental bans on Linux users in the past.

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The game’s listed system requirements doesn’t explicitly state Linux is supported, however players have been able to use the operation system since its launch in 2016.

So, those who have been affected remain hopeful that will be the case again this time around.