Overwatch 2: Adjustments Made to Leaver Penalties for Player Comfort

The developers of Overwatch 2 are making adjustments to the leaver penalties in Quick Play matches to be more forgiving towards players who are unintentionally disconnecting due to circumstances beyond their control.

Recently, there has been increased scrutiny on Overwatch’s system for issuing bans and suspensions. Some players have reported receiving bans for unintentionally exiting games, leading to stricter penalties for leaving.

Following the community’s outcry, the developers of Overwatch have announced that they will be easing up on the leaver penalties, but for now, this only applies to Quick Play matches.

Leaver Penalties reduced in #Overwatch2 ⚠️They aim to be more lenient towards those in Quick Play who may leave for reasons beyond their control:🔌 Leaving 2-3 Games: 2 minute suspension🔌 Leaving 4-5 Games: 10 minute suspension🔌 Leaving 6-9 Games: 2 hour suspension pic.twitter.com/LRS6PaaXYJ

— Overwatch Cavalry (@OWCavalry) April 30, 2024

The April 30 update brought with it an announcement regarding the implementation of leaver penalties in Quick Play. These penalties aim to decrease suspension times for players.

“The change aims to modify our queue suspension durations in order to minimize the impact on those who may have to leave due to uncontrollable circumstances, while maintaining strictness towards those intentionally leaving multiple games,”stated the developers.

With the recent decreases, players should anticipate receiving the following punishments:

Leaving 2 or 3 of your last 20 games played will result in a 2-minute suspension
Leaving 4 to 5 of your last 20 games played will result in a 10-minute suspension
Leaving 6 to 9 of your last 20 games played will result in a 2-hour suspension
Leaving 10 or more games of your last 20 games will still result in a 48-hour suspension

The suspensions will have an impact on your ability to queue for most modes. However, the majority of penalty times have been reduced by half, with the exception of the punishment for leaving 10 or more games, which remains at 48-hours.