Overwatch console players will soon have the option to bring judgement down on troublesome players with the upcoming addition of a reporting function.

Those playing the PC version of Overwatch already have the power to report other players for a variety of reasons, and the fact that all players will now also share in that justice-bringing feature is a welcome addition to those who own an Xbox One or PlayStation 4.

News of the report function came recently from Overwatch's game director Jeff Kaplan who remains consistently active on the Overwatch forums. Kaplan revisited a thread that was opened back in late July where a player inquired as to whether or not there was a way to report players on console, saying that the option was on the way, and it's actually coming pretty soon.

"Reporting on consoles will be available when patch 1.14 goes live (the patch that has DM and TDM and is currently on the PTR for testing)," Kaplan said.

Kaplan went on to explain that the Overwatch team is still working on fine-tuning the report feature and detailed some of the improvements that they're working towards.

"Also, it's important to note the reporting system and punishments are very much an ongoing development for us," Kaplan added. "Improvements will continue over time. We are working on increased punishments for high frequency offenders, email notifications when your reports result in disciplinary action (we're experimenting with this right now and we'll expand this as we refine it) and eventually notifications in the game client when your report results in disciplinary action."

Receiving a notification when your report results in some type of punishment may not seem like the most-needed part of the report system, but it certainly goes a long way in making sure that reports feel meaningful. The details of the punishment likely won't be revealed, but knowing that a report warranted a response from Blizzard is enough to maintain players' faith in the system.

The "DM" and "TDM" that Kaplan mentioned refers to the addition of Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch modes that are being added with Patch 1.14 as well. Buffs to Roadhog, Junkrat, and Orisa are also scheduled and are currently being tested.

Posted: Aug 19, 2017 4:38 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: http://comicbook.com/gaming/2017/08/19/overwatch-report-feature-xbox-one-playstation-4/