Blizzard Banned More Than 6,000 Overwatch 2 Console Accounts Over XIM Use

Blizzard has banned more than 6,000 Overwatch 2 console accounts after a months-long effort targeting unauthorized peripherals, commonly referred to as XIM or Ximming. In its August 4 patch notes, the developer said the devices can provide an unfair gameplay advantage.

The review took extra care because unauthorized peripherals can abuse allowances intended for accessibility-focused devices. Those tools are used legitimately by players with disabilities, so Blizzard said it needed to distinguish between approved accessibility hardware and devices being used to gain an advantage in console matches.

Blizzard said it is now confident in the accounts identified during the investigation and has taken action against them. The developer also described its work against unauthorized peripherals as ongoing rather than a one-time enforcement wave.

Patch Notes: Overwatch 2 — August 4, 2026

This update centers on account enforcement for unauthorized console peripherals. Blizzard’s message covers the scope of the bans, the difficulty of identifying the devices without affecting accessibility users, and the company’s continued focus on fair play.

Update on Unauthorized Peripheral Usage for Console Platforms

Hello, heroes! We’re here today to update you all on our efforts to combat the use of unauthorized peripherals within our console communities, often referred to as using XIM or Ximming. While our efforts to combat this form of unfair gameplay advantage are constant and ongoing, today marks the culmination of a months-long effort to identify and ban over 6000 accounts we’ve identified as using unauthorized peripherals.

Part of what makes identifying the unauthorized peripherals used by these accounts tricky is that these cheating devices often intentionally abuse allowances we make for accessibility-focused devices used by legitimate players with disabilities. This issue meant that we wanted to take our time and ensure that we accurately identified unauthorized devices. We’re now confident that we’ve done so, and we’ve put the hammer down on players utilizing these devices.

Thanks for taking the time today to listen to our update on unauthorized peripherals. Until next time, play nice, play fair, and see you in-game!

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Overwatch

Developed by Blizzard Entertainment

Overwatch is a free-to-play first-person hero shooter developed by Blizzard Entertainment. Players choose from a large roster of role-based heroes and compete in 5v5 team matches across various objective-based game modes, with both casual and ranked competitive play. Originally released as Overwatch 2 in 2023 as a successor to the 2016 original, the game was rebranded to simply Overwatch in 2026 with a renewed focus on seasonal narrative content and expanded hero rosters.

• Genre: Shooter
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
• Perspective: First person, Third person
• Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
• Release: 2023-08-10
• Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
• Age Rating:
• IGDB Rating: 69.2/100

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