Here’s How Blizzard is going to severely punish Overwatch Rage quitters


Many people were confused as to what exactly the ‘leaver penalty‘ is in Overwatch. Blizzard rolled it out as a way to punish those who frequently quit matches mid-way while playing the game.

The company has now explained in detail how exactly the system works and the details are sure to deter  any compulsory Overwatch rage quitters. The information comes through the game’s community manager and he’s revealed that the system basically works depending on the player’s games played vs games completed.

Image: Overwatch
Image: Overwatch

It triggers if it falls below the required threshold, and a warning message is sent immediately in case that happens. The system counts the 20 most recent games played by a player to count the disconnects. Once a player receives a warning and if he still continues quitting games mid-way, it’ll be considered as rage quitting.

This will result in a 75% XP penalty being applied on all future games played by the user. However, this isn’t permanent and can be removed by bringing back his completed game threshold above the required percentage. This is also based on the most recent 20 games played.

Image: Overwatch
Image: Overwatch

It is to be noted that even if the player gets kicked due to being inactive, it will still be counted as an intentional exit. Blizzard has laid down a few pointers to give a better idea about what is and what isn’t counted as rage quitting.

  • If you leave a game before the “Assemble Your Team” phase is over (i.e. before you enter your starting spawn rooms):
  • It won’t count as a game played
  • You will not be considered a “leaver” in this scenario
  • If you leave a game after the match ends (i.e. after you see the VICTORY/DEFEAT screen):
  • It will count as a game played—and if your team won, it will count as a win
  • You will not be considered a “leaver” in this scenario
  • If you leave a game after the “Assemble Your Team” phase is over, but before the match ends:
  • It will count as a game played
  • You will be considered a “leaver” in this scenario
Image: Overwatch
Image: Overwatch

Blizzard goes into deeper detail in this forum post, but this is basically the shorter version of it. Blizzard has implemented a even harsher policy for Overwatch cheaters: a permanent ban with no exceptions.