Leaving matches in Overwatch 2 can have some heavy consequences, such as increased wait times or even a drop in your skill rating. But recently, a Twitch streamer known as durpee stumbled upon a way to dodge these penalties completely. Despite the community urging Blizzard for stricter measures, the company hasn’t yet tackled this issue.
A player known under the alias durpee has discovered a loophole that lets players exit a game without any negative feedback. Overwatch 2, like many other competitive games, is under constant watch by Blizzard to ensure a level playing field. They enforce penalties when someone displays toxic behavior to maintain this balance.
Typically, if players quit more than a couple of matches in a given span in unrated modes, they have to endure increasing wait periods—starting from just two minutes all the way up to 48 hours if they persist. The rules are even more stringent in competitive play. Once you leave a competitive match, you can’t start a new one until the previous one is over, and frequent offenders face increased wait times and a loss in skill rating. Repeat offenders might even face seasonal bans, lose rewards, or get permanently banned from competitive matches. Yet, a significant flaw in this system came to light recently.
Mason “durpee” Kuehne, a known Twitch streamer, showcased this exploit by exiting a match without facing any repercussions. In a video, he plays as the hero Reinhardt, exits briefly to add a friend, and when he returns, the game does not penalize him or affect his skill rating. His since-deleted tweets mention that this was discovered during a 6v6 match, and there were no penalties even after ten minutes post-game.
As frustrating as it is for the Overwatch 2 community, who often call for tougher rules against quitting, adjustments have been made over time. With Season 4, stricter measures for leavers were introduced, and with the release of Season 10, quitting penalties became even harsher. Additionally, they implemented changes allowing players to team up with friends regardless of ranking differences.
For now, Blizzard has remained silent on the exploit widely shared by durpee. However, given his recognition in the gaming community, it’s a matter of time before this issue likely attracts Blizzard’s attention. Even though it’s tempting, players are advised against using this exploit as it’s considered against the rules, and Blizzard can hand out bans at any moment.
