Overwatch players praise new feature that refunds rank lost against cheaters

by

Overwatch is now giving Skill Rating (SR) back to players who lost matches to cheaters using programs like aimbots. This is a new effort to combat cheating in the game.

Everyone prefers fair gameplay, and cheating ruins the experience. When cheaters win, honest players are unfairly penalized – their rank can drop even though they didn’t do anything wrong.

It’s incredibly frustrating to lose rank in a game because you’re competing against someone who’s cheating with tools like wallhacks or aimbots.

Fortunately, the Overwatch team is now giving players back their lost rank if they were affected by a cheater who has since been banned. This new feature helps ensure fair play and rewards players who weren’t playing on a level playing field.

Overwatch has implemented a new system where players who lose rank due to encountering cheaters in their placement matches are getting their skill rating (SR) restored. It’s a great update – I’ve never seen anything like it!

— Samito (@SamitoFPS) February 26, 2026

Overwatch is refunding lost SR to players who lose to cheaters

Overwatch players have been reporting a message appearing in the game explaining that their skill ratings were changed because of cheaters.

The game will now correct your rank after a recent match against a player who has been banned for cheating. We apologize for the delay in banning this player, but we’re restoring your progress to reflect a fair outcome and demonstrate our commitment to fair play.

Streamer Samito shared an image showing their ranked progress was reset by 25%, and content creator Deku experienced a 52% reset.

Okay, wow, this is actually a really good change! I’m so happy Blizzard is finally giving us something for all the losses we’ve had due to cheaters. It’s a relief to see they’re taking this seriously!

— Deku (@DekuGGs) February 25, 2026

“Wow, this is surprisingly good!” they said. “I’m happy Blizzard is now giving us rewards for losses caused by cheaters.”

Samito was excited about a recent change to Overwatch’s ranked system. He explained that after being matched with a cheater during his placement matches, his skill rating (SR) was restored – something he’d never experienced before and considered a great improvement.

This fix isn’t just for PC gamers. Console players have also said their rankings were restored after competing against players using xim adapters, which let them use a mouse and keyboard instead of a controller.

Blizzard has stated that using tools like this in console lobbies violates their terms of service, and one player reported receiving a refund after their device was banned.

So, I’m pretty high rank on console, and I recently reported this Baptiste player who was clearly using a xim – they were totally carrying everyone and completely destroyed my team. About a week later, I got a message saying my rank had been adjusted, which was awesome!

Along with this new feature, Blizzard has significantly improved Overwatch for the new season. They’ve added five new playable characters, redesigned how roles work with updated abilities, completely updated the game’s interface, and included many other enhancements.

Read More

2026-02-26 23:54