Nightmare Overwatch bug returns and sends teammates to other maps

Overwatch is by no means an easy game, but it can become infinitely more difficult now that a nightmarish bug, which exiles a teammate to a completely different map, has apparently returned.

It’s nothing new to be playing down a teammate, whether it’s Widowmaker one-tricks, rogue Wrecking Balls, or any number of other independent heroes, we’ve become familiar with playing against uneven odds.

Still, at least your flanking Widow can maybe hit a few shots and, your annoying Hammond can distract the enemies on point. They might not be on mic or communicating at all, but at least they’re there.

Now, an Overwatch bug has returned to the limelight, one that’s capable of literally banishing a teammate to the shadow realm. Luckily, it seems to be restricted to Control maps like Lijiang Tower or Ilios. The glitch can accidentally cause one player to spawn into one of the other two stages while their remaining teammates are forced to play against a full six.

In the example shared by ‘greenIantern_’ on Reddit, during the second round of a match on Lijiang Tower, their team was getting absolutely decimated by the opposition on Control Center. Then, when they die and can spectate teammates, they find out that one of their DPS players, a Soldier 76, is actually stuck in the spawn room of the garden map.

• Read More: Overwatch devs explain why Pharah’s experimental buff has been disabled

The Soldier 76 comrade is seen pacing around, staring intently at the spawn doors, as the kill feed lights up on the top right of the screen. Sadly, his teammates are falling left and right to an enemy team who are blessed by having two DPS (one of which, a Pharah, the Soldier would normally be expected to counter).

In replies to the video, it is reinforced that this bug has, in fact, been around in Overwatch for ages. But, it appears that it is so rare that Blizzard Entertainment have yet to respond or try to fix it.

While ‘owjim’ clarifies that this rare bug is ancient, but has never been addressed, a response by ‘Belviathan’ shows just how far frustration has come. Suggesting that they “would love to see this in OWL,” Reddit’s OW fans suggest that maybe developers would pay attention to the issue if it happened during a high-stakes Overwatch League contest.

• Read More: Immortals reportedly weighing up OWL exit with Los Angeles Valiant sale

It’s unclear what causes the bug (internet connection issues, possibly) or how it can be fixed, with just one solution raised: leave the match and rejoin. For now, one has to simply hope that they don’t run into the issue before Blizzard takes a look at it.

And, fortunately, it doesn’t seem common enough to be a major threat to most games.