Third-Party Apps Banned in Overwatch as the League Hires Its First Female Coach

A pair of interesting Overwatch news items came to light this week. The first is that Blizzard has thrown down the gauntlet regarding real-time predictive stats tracking apps similar to Pursuit or Visor. Players have been warned to stop using them or face bans in the future. The Visor app provides players with predictive information including when enemy ultimates will be ready, how quickly healers are dying and more. Pursuit provides statistical analysis to players after completed matches.

Blizzard's position is that the apps are in violation of the End User License Agreement.

Our stance has always been that users found to be cheating—or using hacks, bots, or third-party software that provides any sort of unfair advantage—those users will be permanently banned from the game. In this case, we’ll be reaching out to users that we’ve detected to be using this unauthorized software; to notify those users that those specific third-party applications are not permitted and do not align with the Blizzard EULA. Furthermore, we will be requesting those users to immediately remove the unauthorized software to avoid account suspension.

According to Engadget, the ban of the apps could have an impact on the Overwatch League as, for instance, Pursuit has partnered with the Philadelphia Fusion and other teams. Overwatch teams also participated in the development of Visor. It remains to be seen what the impact of the decision will be.

Speaking of the Overwatch League, the brand new Washington D.C. team has hired Kyoung Ey Molly Kim, the League's first female coach.