Overwatch 2 devs are fed up with players smurfing in ranked mode

Overwatch smurfing is still very much a thing in the multiplayer game’s sequel, and Blizzard developers are tired of it. Scott Mercer, the game’s meta designer, and senior software engineer Morgan Maddren said in a recent livestream that smurfers are the “bane” of their existence, as they completely overturn what’s already a fragile system (thanks, PC Gamer).

Smurfing is when skilled players make new accounts to either flatten inexperienced players in lower ranks or to show off how quickly they can rise through the ranks. The practice became so common in the first Overwatch that Blizzard actually factored smurfing into the systems it built to help determine player rank, but Mercer said it still wasn’t enough to keep things from breaking.

“The situation we don’t want is like, ‘Hi, I’m a new player to Overwatch,’ and we totally misevaluate your skill and you lose a bunch of games because we think you’re way better than you are,” Mercer said.

Blizzard took steps to reduce smurfing in Overwatch 2, including the controversial decision to require phone numbers linked to new accounts and having players win 50 matches before entering even the lowest rank. It still wasn’t enough, though, and players new to competitive mode are having their match ranks thrown off because of it. 

Maddren and Mercer aren’t resting on their laurels in the battle against smurfs, but didn’t say what additional steps they’re taking to further combat the issue.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF