Overwatch 2 hackers are already ruining games in the first Beta

Brad Norton
Overwatch 2 Soldier

Just two days after the very first Overwatch 2 Beta went live and hackers have already cracked the code to enable various cheats and ruin games for fans getting their first taste of the highly anticipated sequel.

After patiently waiting 907 days since the Overwatch 2 reveal, anxious fans finally got access to the sequel on April 26. While not every bit of planned content has been made available right away, it’s the first hands-on experience for the general public.

With one new hero, a handful of maps, and the swap from 6v6 down to 5v5, there’s plenty for even the most experienced players to wrap their heads around. Though just days into this initial testing period and the process just got a little more frustrating.

Hackers have already implemented various cheats to give themselves an unfair advantage. From wallhacks to aimbots, it took just 48 hours for select individuals to start ruining the experience for others.

“Cheats are already out for Overwatch 2,” the prominent ‘AntiCheatPD’ Twitter account shared on April 28. The brief clip accompanying this new showcased Soldier in the practice range with enemy outlines constantly visible.

If this player was to take their cheats into a public match, it would give them full view of the opposing team from start to finish. Essentially a permanent Widowmaker ultimate.

It didn’t take long for replies to pour in with others sharing their own experiences with hackers early into the Overwatch 2 Beta. One particularly obvious example showed aimbots already being abused in online games.

Once again Soldier was in focus as a player by the name ‘Jennifer’ snapped onto enemies with impossible accuracy. Never missing a shot while clearing out four enemies in a matter of seconds.

Overwatch 2 characters
The first Overwatch 2 Beta is live until Tuesday, May 17.

While there is an assortment of new content in Overwatch 2, these rapid hacks could indicate a lack of upgrades to anticheat software under the hood.

Obviously, this is something that can be improved upon over time, especially as future Beta periods come and go. So there’s every chance issues are resolved before the final game launches at a yet undefined point in the near future.

For the time being, Blizzard is yet to respond to the growing issues in this very first Beta. As a result, you’ll have to keep an eye out and be wary of any suspicious players over the next few weeks.

About The Author

Brad Norton is the Australian Managing Editor at Dexerto. He graduated from Swinburne University with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and has been working full-time in the field for the past six years at the likes of Gamurs Group and now Dexerto. He loves all things single-player gaming (with Uncharted a personal favorite) but has a history on the competitive side having previously run Oceanic esports org Mindfreak. You can contact Brad at brad.norton@dexerto.com