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Technology

Overwatch 2’s ‘Sexual Harassment Simulator’ Made A Brief Return

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Image: Activision Blizzard

Trigger warning: sexual assault and harassment.

An inappropriate Overwatch 2 game mode reappeared, but it’s not one to get excited about. The mode, titled “sexual harassment simulator,” was played enough times that it appeared as one of the most popular over the weekend for some players, according to PC Gamer, which spotted the reappearance just before Blizzard quickly pulled it down.

Another “sexual harassment simulator” was discovered in October 2022, but both tasked players with knocking down Overwatch 2‘s female heroes (like Mercy and Widowmaker) while playing as the cowboy Cole Cassidy and repeatedly crouching over their bodies, apparently, as PC Gamer reported, with the word “raping…” until the character in question is labeled “pregnant” as an AI-controlled Torbjorn supposedly fills the role of the baby. This is disgusting on so many levels it’s not even funny, especially because players are forced to play as Cassidy, previously known as McCree, the same name as the ousted Activision Blizzard developer who took part in the controversial “Cosby Suite” meetups.

A screenshot of the custom mode was posted to Overwatch’s official subreddit by user Joyolo13, who simply asked: “What in god’s name?”

“Lol I remember seeing this every day in [Overwatch 1],” said Redditor sw1nky. “Can’t say I’m surprised it’s still around, [to be honest].”

“McCree is back in the game I guess,” said user FoulfrogBsc.

Kotaku was unable to find the custom game mode in Overwatch 2 as it appears Blizzard took the “sexual harassment simulator” offline—for now. So, it seems the company is aware that such a mode exists but might be having a hard time preventing it from reappearing in the game.

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Sock Affairs wants you to enrobe your feet in their officially licensed socks with art from Pink Floyd and AC/DC records.

“Inappropriate or explicit content has absolutely no place in our game,” a Blizzard spokesperson told PC Gamer when the outlet asked about the first version of the mode last year. “We immediately removed the user-created game mode once made aware of its existence. We are continually working to improve automatic filters to prevent inappropriate user-created content, and manually removing any that are not caught by the system.”

Kotaku reached out to Activision Blizzard for comment.

While this is at least the second time the “sexual harassment simulator” has popped up in Overwatch 2 specifically, players noted that a similar mode existed in some form in the original Overwatch game. At the time, players posted PSAs to warn the community about the offensive content. Of course, not all player-created game modes are this egregious. But it is concerning that this issue has come up more than once within a few months.

 



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Overwatch 2 Bastion Skin Costs One Coin, Causes Problems

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The Gingerbread Bastion skin is available for one coin on the Overwatch 2 store, and your coin balance will l remind you of it until the end of days.
Screenshot: Blizzard Entertainment/Kotaku

Blizzard is offering Overwatch 2 players a holiday treat in the form of a Gingerbread Bastion skin. It’s exactly what it sounds like: the hero shooter’s robot, made entirely of gingerbread and candy canes. His bird companion is even made out of gingerbread, and the whole getup is super cute. The skin and a candy cane weapon charm are available now as a cheap, one-Overwatch-Coin package, but what was likely meant as a gesture of holiday goodwill comes with a notable irksome drawback: now, my Overwatch coin balance is no longer a nice round number.

If you, like many others, are the kind of person who needs to turn the volume on your TV up or down so the level number ends in a five or zero, you likely know what this means. Now, no matter how many coins you earn through completing weekly challenges or paying for them outright, you will never have a flat number again, as all the coin amounts you can get in Overwatch 2 end in zero already. So, if you buy the Gingerbread Bastion skin, there will always be a pesky nine at the end of your currency. Unless Blizzard releases something with a cost that ends in nine.

Bastion and his gingerbread bird are cute, but at what cost?
Screenshot: Blizzard Entertainment/Kotaku

I joke, but the discrepancy actually does have a tangible effect on your using the Overwatch 2 store. All the cosmetics you can buy in the in-game shop cost round numbers, and there’s no way to buy Overwatch Coins for any less than 500 coins ($4.99). So, for example, say you wanted to buy a skin that costs 1000 Overwatch Coins, but you just bought the Bastion skin for one coin, bringing your balance to 999 Coins. You’d be one coin away from buying the skin you wanted, but the only means you’d have of immediately closing the gap would be to pay at least $4.99. The next quickest way would be to complete four weekly challenges, which would give you 30 Coins, but is, of course, more time consuming.

Ultimately, because of the grindy systems the Overwatch 2 store has in place for acquiring currency, a skin costing one coin has a handful of weird drawbacks, whether that be from it putting your coin balance in a weird spot in its economy, or you having to deal with a non round number in your wallet staring back at you every time you open the store. But as a holiday gift, it’s the thought that counts, I guess?

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Outside of seasoned Bastion skins, Overwatch 2 is currently hosting its annual Winter Wonderland event, which includes a new mode that harkens back to when Mei could freeze everybody in place.

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Technology

RIP To These 14 Games That Died In 2022

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The graveyard is expanding, y’all.
Image: Bandai Namco / Blizzard / Codemasters / Ubisoft / Kotaku / Odette Villarreal (Shutterstock)

There was a time, back in the day, where you’d just buy a finished game and played it. No day-one updates or extra patches—it was simple. These games couldn’t “die” because they simply…existed. But as MMOs and live-service games (or “games as a service”) began to proliferate, requiring online servers and constant support from developers to keep things up and running, so too has the number of games that’ve hit in the graveyard. Please, bow your heads as were solemnly mark this year’s casualties.

There were quite a few, too, from racing sims like Dirt Rally and Project Cars to battle royales like Hyper Scape and massively-multiplayer online role-playing games such as Tera. Not every game on this list is “dead” in the traditional sense, with some still having minor functionality that makes them somewhat playable, but all are no longer receiving developmental resources or updates, effectively making them dead games.

Read More: 12 Games Killed In 2021 That Prove Preservation Is Vital

With that, here are 14 games that died in 2022:

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Technology

Blizzard Legend Chris Metzen Returns To Company After Six Years

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Photo: Bloomberg (Getty Images)

Blizzard in 2022 is a vastly different company to the one so many became fans of in the 1990s and 2000s, partly because it is now owned by Activision, but mostly because that was a long time ago and most of the people who made the games you love have left!

Well, except for one. Chris Metzen, a key figure in Blizzard’s rise during that time period and a man with a wild resume of work for the studio (he’s been an artist, writer, designer, creative director and even long-running voice actor on Diablo, StarCraft, WarCraft, WoW and Overwatch, ), has just announced that he’s returning, six years after he departed.

As we reported at the time, Metzen left during a tumultuous time not just for the studio—amid the cancellation of Titan and the release of Overwatch—but in his personal life as well, having just become a father and experiencing some serious health issues:

After Titan’s cancellation, Metzen fell in with the Overwatch project. It was, in his words, “one last charge at the wall.” He helped rally morale and push the game through to completion. And it is a god damned excellent game.

In the process, though, Metzen suffered from nonstop anxiety. During movies with his wife, he’d experience what he’d later learn were panic attacks. He felt like his lungs would stop, but when he consulted doctors, nothing was wrong with him. It was the beginning of 2016, and with the upcoming release of World of Warcraft’s Legion, Overwatch, its animated shorts, the Blizzard movies and, also, a new baby, Metzen was crushed under the pressure to do it all.

“I need a change in my life,” Metzen said.

Blizzard announced his return this morning:

CITIZENS OF AZEROTH,

It is with great joy that I announce CHRIS METZEN has joined the Warcraft Leadership Team as Creative Advisor. Chris’s focus initially will be on World of Warcraft, then his work will expand to other projects across this growing franchise.

Chris was one of the original team members working on the W Warcraft universe back when it began in 1994, and we are so happy to be reuniting him with the world he helped create.

John Hight

General Manager, Warcraft

That job title, “creative advisor”, could mean anything, but the fact Hight adds “his work will expand to other projects across this growing franchise” suggests it’s just a way to ease him back into the studio before setting him loose on more stuff.

You can, and really should, check out Metzen’s full list of contributions to Blizzard games over the years for a fuller understanding of why fans are so happy at this news.

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Technology

Overwatch 2 Brings Back Freezing For Its New Holiday Mode

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Prepare to be frozen in place once more.
Screenshot: Blizzard

Overwatch 2’s various reworks and balance changes have fundamentally altered several characters from their original forms, and that shift means a lot of mechanics that were once key to the original game no longer exist in the sequel. This came as part of a larger change in the game to remove or alter crowd control abilities like Cassidy’s Flashbang and Brigitte’s Shield Bash which make the game altogether faster and more frantic.

The changes include removing Mei’s original ability to freeze her enemies in place with her primary fire (though her ultimate still has the freezing effect for those caught in it), which has been replaced by a slowdown effect. If you were feeling nostalgic for one of the most frustrating mechanics Overwatch had back in the day, Blizzard has put out a new mode for its returning Winter Wonderland holiday event that entirely centers around stopping players in their tracks. If you miss that part of her kit as a Mei main, I get it. If you miss it as someone who was once on the receiving end of her endothermic blaster, I have to ask, “who hurt you?”

Freezethaw Elimination is part of Overwatch 2’s 2022 Winter Wonderland event, which is running up until January 4. The arcade mode is what Blizzard describes as the hero shooter’s version of freeze tag, where your team’s goal is to freeze all your enemies by eliminating them, then they’re left to helplessly watch from their icy prison until thawed by a teammate. The new mode launches alongside returning Winter Wonderland modes Mei’s Snowball Offensive and Mei’s Yeti Hunt, and it really brings home that Mei and her icy disposition will, by default, always be the star of Overwatch’s annual winter event. Unless she gets removed from the game, again.

D.Va’s holiday cosmetics will be available through Twitch drops.
Screenshot: Blizzard

As with all Overwatch events, the 2022 Winter Wonderland event includes themed cosmetics, such as a new Ice Queen skin for Brigitte and an Ice Angel skin for Echo alongside the smaller stuff like weapon charms and sprays. Some of these, including the Brigitte skin, are unlockable through playing Winter Wonderland modes and completing event challenges.

All of this is happening as a prelude for some holiday-themed D.Va cosmetics that will be unlockable by watching Overwatch 2 Twitch streams from December 25 to January 4. This includes a Festive victory pose, which has D.Va’s mech adorned with Christmas lights, and the Sleighing skin, which has both the hero and her mech dressed up for the holidays. Hopefully these Twitch drops don’t fall prey to the same troubles previous events have had, as some players were reporting not having unlocked promised in-game cosmetics after watching Overwatch League streams last month.

Overwatch 2 is in the midst of its second season, which added Ramattra, a new tank hero who’s the leader of Null Sector, one of the antagonistic forces in the game’s upcoming PvE mode set to launch next year. Ramattra is the second unlockable new hero in Overwatch 2 after Kiriko at launch, who was made part of the battle pass, much to the chagrin of long-time players who got heroes for free in the first game. After this pushback, Blizzard made Ramattra slightly easier to unlock on the free battle pass. Still not much happening regarding feedback on its monetization and battle pass grind, though.

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Technology

New Overwatch 2 Heroes Will Be Easier To Unlock For Free

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Image: Blizzard / Kotaku / Pablo Wilson (Shutterstock)

Free-to-play shooter Overwatch 2 is launching Season 2 tomorrow and with it a brand new tank character, Ramattra. And like last time, you can either buy the premium battle pass to unlock the new hero instantly or you can grind the free path to eventually gain access to him. But this time, following complaints from players, Blizzard is making that second option easier.

Released earlier this fall, Blizzard’s hero-based competitive shooter hasn’t had a great first few months. Between server issues, bugs, characters being removed from the game, pricey skins, and issues with crossplay and support mains, well it’s been a giant mess.

One of the most controversial issues involved Kiriko, a new support character added in the game’s first season. If you bought the battle pass, you got the new hero instantly. However, for players who didn’t buy the pass, you’d have to grind to level 55 to unlock her. Considering how much of a slog it was to level up the battle pass, not many were happy about this. Leveling up the pass took a long time, and involved playing a lot of matches and completing boring or specific challenges—like pin five enemies with Orisa’s spear—that didn’t pay out much XP. Now, ahead of Season 2’s launch tomorrow, Blizzard is promising an easier path to unlocking its new tank for free.

Blizzard

On Twitter, Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller tweeted that Blizzard had reviewed data from Season 1 and decided to move Ramattra from tier 55 to tier 45 in the battle pass. And some challenges will be made “easier” to complete.

“Hey, all! Quick update on some changes coming to Season 2,” said Keller. “After reviewing data for Season 1, we’re moving Ramattra into Tier 45 of the Battle Pass and making a few more weekly challenges easier to complete. Excited for you all to see everything new in Season 2 starting tomorrow!”

This is part of Blizzard’s ongoing efforts to make progression in the shooter “more rewarding.” Of course on Twitter, players were mixed. While many seemed happy about the change, others were still upset that the hero was locked behind such a high tier of the pass, suggesting a lower tier would be better.

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Now, it should be noted that unlike in the original Overwatch—which added all characters for free for all players with no restrictions—Ramattra will still be locked behind a paywall unless you grind. But at least now the grind will be less terrible and once you hit 45 you can stop focusing on challenges and the battle pass and just enjoy your new character. Well, unless Blizzard removes him like Mei or Bastion for a few weeks.



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Technology

Blizzard Hears Fans On Overwatch 2 Battle Pass Complaints Slug

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Image: Blizzard

One of the most contentious things about Overwatch 2 has been the beloved hero shooter’s shift from paid game to free-to-play download supported by grindy battle passes. Blizzard now says it wants to address those concerns moving forward, ironing out the game’s progression in future seasons so that players feel “more rewarded just for sitting down and playing.”

“For Season 3 and beyond, we’re looking at a mix of Battle Pass changes, more interesting Challenges to pursue, and more exciting play-focused progression systems for you all to dig into. We’ll be able to talk about some of these changes soon, but other changes may take more time to lock-in,” recently hired executive producer, Jared Neuss, wrote in a new update.

In the meantime, Season 2, which starts on December 6 and adds Ramattra, will see each new dedicated event introduce its own unique skin that can be unlocked just by playing. Twitch drops, which give players access to new cosmetics by watching their favorite Overwatch 2 streamers, will continue as well. I don’t think this will satisfy the game’s most vocal critics immediately, but it’s at least an acknowledgement that the status quo isn’t sustainable.

Read More: 7 Tips For Overwatch 2 Beginners Determined To Win

Since the game launched, players have been frustrated by new heroes being locked behind the paid battle pass, the length of time it takes to rank it up, and the high prices of all the skins. The current state of affairs has even had some players pining for the loot boxes from the first game. And all of this has only been compounded by broken characters, delayed patches, and random bugs like a recent glitch that kept some players unable to progress in ranked play.

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For now, Blizzard is working on awarding support players more XP to incentivize them to pick that role and help alleviate queue times. Overwatch 2 is also currently handing out Sojourn, Junker Queen, and Kiriko highlight intros for those who log in during certain time periods over the next week. Blizzard has even turned on crossplay aim assist for console players in all modes except competitive because the alternative was a “bad experience.”

“Players who’ve stuck with us, players who’ve returned, and players who are just now jumping in the fun—thank you for playing Overwatch 2,” Neuss wrote today. “We have an incredible community, and I hope that by opening up about what we’re thinking more, we can keep growing together.”

     

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Overwatch 2 Patch Delayed, Mei Still ‘Temporarily Disabled’

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Image: Blizzard

An urgent update for Overwatch 2 was supposed to have gone live this afternoon, but was delayed at the 11th hour when Blizzard discovered a “critical issue”.

Posting on the game’s official forums, a community rep says:

Today’s patch is delayed as we work to resolve a critical issue. We’ll provide an update here and set the patch live as soon as the problem is addressed.

This includes the upcoming balance changes, bug fixes, including those that affect Mei, and core content updates we have planned for this patch. This delay also impacts the delivery of Overwatch League Viewership Incentives & Perks from the Postseason matches during the period between Oct 30 – Nov 4, along with the rotation of cosmetics in the Overwatch League shop.

Daily and weekly challenges will reset today, as well as the standard shop refresh.

Thanks for your understanding, we’ll be working on releasing this patch as soon as possible. Follow our forums and socials at @PlayOverwatch for updates.

While the “core content updates” and Overwatch League stuff are notable, the patch delay is most pressing for Mei fans, who have been unable to play as the character (but not pay $10 for skins) after she was removed from rotation late last month, saying at the time:

We are temporarily disabling Mei to address a bug with her Ice Wall ability that allows heroes to reach unintended locations. We are working to address these issues as quickly as possible and aim to bring Mei back in our next upcoming patch which is set for November 15.

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The bad news is that this patch’s delay means she’s still MIA. The good news is that Blizzard is now “planning to release this mid-season patch on Thursday, November 17 at 11 AM PST”, and would like to say “thank you to our players for your patience as we addressed this issue.”

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Technology

Server Errors Plague Overwatch 2 Players During Halloween Event

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I’m sorry, player, I’m afraid I can’t let you play this game.
Image: Blizzard / Kotaku

Right now there’s a Halloween event running for Overwatch 2, but a fair amount of players are facing a different kind of terror: A previously known server error with the code “LC-208” appears to be disproportiantely hitting players after the most recent update.

While server and connection errors often happen for online games, “Overwatch 2 Console Error LC-208” is currently plaguing a large number of players on console, preventing them from connecting to servers and playing the game. Blizzard has its own steps for working around this issue, as it’s been around since the launch of the game, though not in such numbers. Until Blizzard issues a broader statement or additional fix, players have been discovering quirky, unexplainable ways to fix it, involving signing in on PC first or loading into the game’s firing range and quitting before hitting matchmaking, though these aren’t necessarily bullet-proof prescriptions.

Kotaku has reached out to Blizzard for comment but didn’t hear back prior to publication.

Since yesterday’s Halloween update, search results on Twitter, Reddit, and even Overwatch 2’s own forums have started turning up countless reports of players not being able to enter the game. The problem, given the error code’s info, seems to hit console players only. Anecdotally it seems to be hitting PS4 and PS5 players the most, though many Xbox players are reportedly facing the error as well.

A main thread for the LC-208 issue in Blizzard’s official forums, with nearly 300 replies and over 2,500 views, starts with “LC-208’d after the Halloween event update. Never had an issue with this before. Can’t get into the game.” “I tried everything to fix the Login Error LC-208” Twitter user Phish (no, not the band) says. “I have signed out of my battle net account, restarted my [router], restarted my game, used a different wireless connection, tried using ethernet, and redownloaded the game and I am still getting LC-208.”

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They’re not alone, as countless tweets and Reddit threads read similarly. Some have found non-optimal workarounds. Twitter user hatsune niiku reports bypassing the LC-208 error on console by entering the game’s firing range on PC, closing the game, and then logging in on console. “Worked for me just now,” they say.

Sadly, not everyone has a gaming PC at the ready to try this out, nor is it an actual fix for the problem. Blizzard recommends the following steps for solving LC-208 error. Hopefully it will work out for you:

If your console account is linked with your Battle.net account, you need to have a BattleTag. If you have a BattleTag but your accounts are not linked, follow the connection steps linked below to resolve the error.

Note: If your Battle.net account is connected to your console account, disconnecting it and reconnecting can resolve the error.

1. Check your network configuration to find any issues with your firewall, router, or port settings.

2. Reset your network devices to make sure your router hasn’t become flooded with data.

3. If you’re using a wireless connection, optimize your internet connection to rule out a connection issue.

4. Run your console’s built-in connection test (Playstation 4) (Xbox One) (Nintendo Switch).

5. Use your console’s internet browser to run a Looking Glass test. This will help determine if the problem is between your console and our servers.



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Remember Bastion, Overwatch 2’s MIA Hero? He’s Back Next Week

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Bastion aka that robot from Overwatch 2
Image: Blizzard / Kotaku

Remember Bastion? He was a robot attack character in Overwatch and its recently released free-to-play sequel, Overwatch 2. However, if you’ve played Blizzard’s character shooter in the last ten days, you’ll have noticed that the dangerous robot is uh…missing. Actually, Bastion has been out of the game longer than he’s been in the game at this point. Fortunately, Blizzard has revealed that Bastion as well as Torbjorn and a recently removed map will all be returning to the game on October 25, by which point they will have been out of the game twice as long as they were in it.

Overwatch 2 hasn’t had a great launch. The hero shooter rolled out across PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC on October 4. And almost immediately it ran into server issues caused by DDoS attacks. Then there were issues with a cell phone requirement, problems with inviting friends to your group, extended downtimes, and more. It’s been a big mess!

And then on October 10, after players discovered some nasty tricks that allowed for infinite and stacked abilities, Bastion was removed completely from the game. The dwarf warrior and turret lover, Torbjorn, was also removed, but only from competitive play. At the time, Blizzard said the characters were taking a “quick trip” back into the garage for some fixes. 10 days later… they aren’t back yet. But at least we know when they will return. And players will have to wait an additional five days to see Bastion and Torbjorn return on October 25. Character removals from live service games aren’t totally unprecedented, of course, but they don’t typically happen right at launch, and they don’t typically go on quite this long.

Also, on top of all this, yesterday, Blizzard announced it will now be removing the Junkertown map from Overwatch 2 due to a bug that was causing “graphic performance issues” during gameplay. It’s reported that folks could cause these issues on purpose. So Overwatch 2 currently is down a map and two characters, with one of them being completely gone. You can’t even play with Bastion in practice mode or against bots. You can’t even look at your cosmetics for the robot. It’s like he never existed, a dream for some players, no doubt.

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Mixed reality
The Meta Quest Pro centers on working, creating, and collaborating in a virtual space.

Despite these issues, Blizzard says that Overwatch 2 has reached 25 million players across all platforms. It’s an impressive number, especially compared to the first game, but the sequel is also free and available on twice as many platforms from the get-go.

While players won’t be able to enjoy Bastion, Torb, or Junkertown just yet, if you log in this weekend, it’ll be the start of the double XP event that Blizzard is throwing as an apology for the rocky launch of the game.

 

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