Overwatch 2 high ranked lobbies are plagued with Ximmers who abuse mouse and keyboard inputs to gain unfair advantage against controller players. This has been a problem since the launch of season 1 but it seems that will be coming to end soon. The latest OW2 director take has addressed this issue, here is what you need to know.
In a recent director take, Overwatch 2 Senior game producer Adam Massey and lead gameplay engineer Daniel Razza shared some promising updates to improve experience for console players which will level the playing field and make matches actually fair.
The dev blog refers to “Xim” devices as “unapproved peripherals,” these devices allow console players to plug in keyboard and mouse to their console while tricking it into thinking that the player is still using a controller. To make things worse, Ximmers also gain aim assist while using mouse and keyboard on console, making their inputs much superior to real controller players. OW2 devs are planning to take actions against this issue.
If you are unaware, high ranked lobbies in Overwatch 2, specifically above Diamond 1- Masters 5, the frequency of players Ximming rises greatly as you climb up. While some use these “unapproved peripherals,” to gain PC like movement to dominate controller players, others use it to level the field against other Ximmers as there has been no choice since this issue was unaddressed for so long. Now with Blizzard finally taking actions against these players, we may never see Ximmers in the game again.
Ximmers Will Be Banned From Overwatch 2 Competitive
Players using Xim devices will be restricted from Competitive Play starting Season 11. However, the devs have also stated they will be taking action against these players over the next few weeks with permanent account bans.
There will be permanent account bans against players who are the most severe abusers of unapproved peripherals. These actions will be targeted towards high-ranked players who have been reported by others and who our data clearly shows are using an unapproved peripheral
OW2 DIRECTOR’S TAKE
There will be two types of restrictions
- First time a Xim user is detected, they will be restricted from Competitive on console for one week. The player will still have access to Quick Play, and during this time if they stop using “unapproved peripheral” aka Xim device, their ban will expire and they can hop back into playing competitive.
- Despite their first ban if the player continues use Xim devices, they will be restricted from Competitive Play again and also get paired with other keyboard and mouse users in QP. Furthermore, these players will lose access to the aim assist feature and only be matched with other players using similar setups.
For console players using these unapproved peripherals who do not want their account banned, the only way to evade these bans is to cease using an unapproved peripheral right now. There will be no other warnings!
OW2 DIRECTOR’S TAKE
Consequences for Ximming on Console
Overall this looks like a huge win for console players. Many players in the past have quit playing ranked due to Ximmers, but it seems with this update the lost playerbase might actually return. The recently launched Overwatch 2 season 10 brought some much asked balance changes to the game and now with the update to ban Ximmers, the high rank experience might finally improve.
Overwatch 2 wouldn’t be the first FPS shooter to take action against “unapproved peripherals,” devices like XIM, Cronus Zen, and ReaSnow S1 have long been a problem in online competitive shooters on console. Last year, we saw game developers of Rainbow Six Siege & Call of Duty mess with these players and now OW2 is taking the same path.
