'Overwatch' Update, News: Blizzard Confirms Symmetra Fan Theory, Consequences for XP Cheaters

Promotional image for Blizzard's fighting game "Overwatch"Facebook/OverwatchSEA

Blizzard is now taking action against players who are taking advantage of the new custom games by farming XP.

"Overwatch" game director Jeff Kaplan addressed the issue in a forum post and revealed the studio's plans to stop players from abusing the new custom game feature. Apparently, many players have found sneaky ways to join a Custom Game to gain experience while being inactive. Kaplan said they have already made changes to prevent such cheating from happening, with plans of completely turning off experience gain in Custom Game if players continue to abuse the system. In addition, he encouraged players to continue reporting cheaters in the game.

"If you create a Custom Game that in any way encourages players to gain experience while inactive, you risk having your account banned," Kaplan wrote. "If you join any game mode — including Custom Games — with the intent of gaining experience while being inactive, you risk having your account banned."

Meanwhile, Blizzard recently confirmed a long-standing fan theory about one of its characters — Symmetra. The game has been praised for its diversity with different sexual, racial and gender identities represented by all of the heroes. Polygon reports that the developer is adding neurological diversity to the mix, confirming to a fan that Symmetra is on the autism spectrum.

In a letter to a fan, Kaplan confirmed that one of the game's most popular fighters has autism.

"Symmetra is autistic. She is one of our most beloved heroes and we think she does a great job of representing just how awesome someone with autism can be," an excerpt from the letter reads.

"Overwatch" indeed has a deep lore, despite the game's lack of a story mode. The comics about the characters provide another way for fans to have an idea on the backstory and defining attributes of their favorite heroes. Before Symmetra's autism was confirmed, Tracer was introduced in December as the first lesbian character in the game.