Content Warning: This news article contains references to sexual assault.
A user-created Overwatch 2 mode that simulates sexual assault reappeared in the game’s custom game browser, appearing as one of the most popular modes for some.
I contacted Blizzard yesterday after confirming that the unique code to play this mode is working. The code is no longer functional as of today, but there’s no word from Blizzard as to what they plan to prevent the mode from returning to Overwatch.
“Sexual harassment simulator” with updated player mode that appeared in October (opens in new tab), tasks one player with impregnating Overwatch 2’s female heroes. As Cassidy, one player knocks a Mercy-like hero to the ground and is instructed to crouch repeatedly onto her body. In this mode, until the female hero is marked as “Pregnant”, the top of the screen says “Rapping…”, instructing her to wait for her baby to be born, represented as an AI-controlled Torbjorn. .
According to the description, this mode is from the same creator as the original mode “YouTube’s Amatsuhikone”. I once found his YouTube channel by that name last year, which had some Overwatch-related videos, but now seems to be gone.
The new mode was played well enough to appear on the game’s popular page (the first page you see when you enter the custom game browser). Reddit user Joyolo13 (opens in new tab) I posted a screenshot of it on the game’s subreddit. I wasn’t able to see the mode on the popular section of the North American Overwatch 2 servers, but it seems that the auto-curation varies by region. and they said it’s on their partners page too.
Anyone with a unique code can create a lobby for the mode. You can search in the Custom Games Browser using words like “simulator”, but they are not always available or always the same title.
Overwatch 2’s custom game browser has a mode marked “18+”, some claim it’s intended for erotic role-playing, but five years after the browser was published, it’s been labeled “sexual I’ve never seen a mode as blatant as ‘harassment’. simulator”.
Blizzard’s moderation tools do not appear to automatically exclude these words from titles and descriptions. For “Abusive Custom Game Text”, you can report the mode through the info page, but Blizzard doesn’t let you enter a description like you would when reporting a player.
When the mod came out late last year, Twitter user Lynn MBE posted a PSA to parents of kids who might spot the mod. Lynn said her son found the mod and she “realized it was bad and closed the game and told me.” Popular comedian and Twitch streamer Brian “Limmy” Limond boosted (opens in new tab) PSA, including his own screenshots of the mode, while pointing out how the game is “marketed for 12-year-olds.”
“Inappropriate or explicit content is absolutely not present in our games,” a Blizzard spokesperson said after contacting PC Gamer about the mode last year. We removed the mods as soon as we became aware of their existence.We are continuously working to improve our automatic filters to prevent inappropriate user-generated content, and manually remove anything that was not detected by our system. I have.”
of roblox (opens in new tab) User-created game moderation was recently published by a parent and gaming industry veteran after spending six hours poring over a vast library of custom games. Despite an age rating system in place, she quickly deleted her child’s account after seeing “weird pedo stuff, bathroom voyeur games, and suicidal idealizations” without age restrictions.
