Blizzard insists it’s “working to improve” moderation in Overwatch 2 following a backlash against a “sexual harassment simulator” custom game.
The free-to-play multiplayer game includes custom game modes that can be freely named, but some words seemingly aren’t prevented by Blizzard’s word filters.
Twitter user Lynn MBE posted a warning on Twitter when her 12-year-old son discovered a highly inappropriate custom game.
What’s week one been like in Overwatch 2?
“Do not let your children play Overwatch. My 12yo son found custom games within it, one called, ‘sexual harassment’ and one game that simulated the female characters being raped. Thankfully my son realised it was bad, closed the game and told me,” she said.
Comedian and Twitch streamer Brian “Limmy” Limond shared screenshots of the custom game’s description in response to the tweet.
“This is version 1.2 of the new and unique Sexual Harassment Simulator,” it reads, refering to a previous version of the mode playable in Overwatch 1. “Find new friends, live a normal life and give birth to a child!”
It’s unclear who the creator of the mode is. The gameplay of the custom mode is obscene, so I won’t repeat it here.
“Inappropriate or explicit content has absolutely no place in our game,” a Blizzard spokesperson told PC Gamer. “We immediately removed the user-created game mode once made aware of its existence. We are continually working to improve automatic filters to prevent inappropriate user-created content, and manually removing any that are not caught by the system.”
However, PC Gamer reported at the time of publication the custom game was still accessible using its unique five-digit code, despite being removed from listings, which suggests Overwatch 2 has significant moderation issues.
Overwatch 2 has been plagued by problems since launch, from controversial SMS verification, to DDoS attacks, and an auto-purchase bug.
Beyond bugs and technical problems, moderation is a more fundamental issue that needs addressing.
