Overwatch might have quietly killed off aimbots in latest update

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Reports from the Korean Overwatch forums point to stealth implementation.

Blizzard launched the latest update for Overwatch this week, which ushered in the new Horizon Lunar Colony map as well as a host of tweaks and changes. But some players are reportedly experiencing another major change that most won't even notice: the effectiveness of aimbots has been vastly diminished.

That's according to a poster on the official Overwatch subreddit, who reports that players in the Korean Overwatch forums have noticed the change. As we've seen before, cheating and hacking in the Korean Overwatch scene is an ongoing concern, with Blizzard banning nearly 23,000 accounts in February due to these violations.

According to the secondhand report on reddit, image recognition aimbots have had their effectiveness reduced, due to a barely noticeable change in the way colour is used in-game. Because aimbots will target specific colour values to lock onto targets, the game now changes the coloured outlines of enemies slightly. 

The post reads: "They [aimbots] are already known to function incorrectly on maps like Gibraltar with red backgrounds so this should deal a critical blow to these attacks."

It's hard to confirm whether this is real without, you know, going into Overwatch and cheating myself. But I have contacted a Blizzard rep to confirm the news, and will update if I hear back. There's every reason to expect that Blizzard would like to keep its anti-cheating measures under its hat, though.

The company has been proactive in smiting Overwatch cheaters, with the above-mentioned ban wave preceding this more recent blitz.

Shaun Prescott
Shaun Prescott
Australian Editor

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.