Blizzard has dropped the ban hammer on more than 6,000 Overwatch 2 accounts, and the target this time isn't aimbots or wallhacks. It's hardware: XIM and Cronus-style adapters that let console players run mouse and keyboard while still soaking up controller aim assist. Best of both worlds, and entirely against the rules.
Why it took so long
Blizzard says this was a months-long effort, and the slow pace was deliberate. These devices are a nightmare to detect because they lean on the same allowances built in for legitimate accessibility hardware, the kind some disabled players rely on to play at all. Get the detection wrong and you ban someone who did nothing but adapt their setup to their needs. Blizzard says it took the extra time specifically to be sure it was catching cheats and not accessibility kit.
The honest bit
Good. "Ximming" has been a quiet plague in console shooters for years, and it's genuinely unfair, mouse precision plus aim assist is a combination the game was never balanced around. The wrinkle worth watching is that the same tech has real, legitimate accessibility uses, and any anti-cheat system that has to tell the two apart will get one wrong eventually. If you got swept up in this wave and you're on an approved accessibility device, that's the appeal to file. Everyone else knew exactly what they were doing.
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