Season 7 of Overwatch 2 has introduced a significant change to address the issue of disruptive players. The developers have implemented a new system to combat the problem of leavers, who often put their teams at a disadvantage. Previously, these players would receive an XP penalty, but in Season 7, Blizzard has decided to issue suspensions for those who leave games too often. This new approach aims to discourage players from repeatedly leaving matches, especially with the intention to disrupt the experience of others.
According to a blog post by the Overwatch 2 team, the 75% penalty for Battle Pass XP was not deterring leavers effectively, necessitating the implementation of stricter punishments. In Season 7, players who leave four out of their last twenty games will receive a 10-minute suspension from queuing for any game mode that grants progression progress. Ranked mode, quick play, arcade, and other modes will be off-limits until the suspension is served. If these players continue to leave games, their suspension duration can increase up to 30 minutes. The developers believe that this balanced approach will allow players who are pulled away from the game to have some time before queuing again, while making it tougher for those who deliberately leave to ruin the experience for others.
It remains to be seen whether this new system will effectively address the issue of leavers or if further adjustments to the penalties will be required. For more information on Overwatch 2 Season 7, players can refer to the patch notes and explore the game-changing respawn feature that the developers have introduced.