Overwatch 2 Bug Is Changing Player Usernames For No Reason
The latest Overwatch 2 maintenance update seems to have had some unintended consequences, with users reporting that their usernames were changed for seemingly no reason at all. One user was even hit with a minus 75 percent XP penalty, and they have no idea why.
If this has affected you, then rest easy - fans seem to have found the cause. For some reason, the recent update toggled "streamer mode" on for some players, giving them a nonsense battletag that is typically used to avoid stream snipers. This can just as easily be switched off in options, but it isn't clear why the update is having these strange effects in the first place.
Related: This Week In Overwatch 2: More Dating, More Matchmaking Fixes, More Weird Bugs
This has been documented by a couple of users on Reddit, who came back after the update to find that there username was now a random string of letters and numbers.
This appears to also be an update to how streamer protection works in Overwatch 2. Before, it would be a name with several characters starred out. This didn't actually help streamers out that much at all, as it made it clear who was trying to hide their gamertag. Now, this new system means streamers should be able to hide among other players a little bit easier.
Logging in to check myself, it does seem that streamer protection has received some improvements. But if you're affected by this glitch, you should be able to easily go into the options to toggle it off, and get your usual username back. At least we know we can go anonymous if too many players in competitive are memorising our name for all the wrong reasons...
Making the game safer for streamers is far from the only area Blizzard is looking into right now. The devs are also improving
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