Overwatch update accidentally takes out servers

The connection issues are a result of "recent update to an Arcade mode card."
Image via Blizzard Entertainment

If you’re experiencing connectivity issues in Overwatch, the blame may lie on the latest Arcade card. Blizzard accidentally downed the Overwatch servers after a new update made its way to the live game.

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Blizzard’s customer support revealed that “a recent update to an Arcade mode card has resulted in some users being disconnected.” The series of disconnection forced several players to reconnect at the same time and clogged up Overwatch servers with a lengthy queue to reenter the servers.

Lead software engineer Bill Warnecke acknowledged the issue in response to a fan.

“An update we pushed caused a problem,” Warnecke said. “We’re working on resolving the issue now, apologies for the disruption to your games.”

Fans reported a myriad of issues that caused disconnections mid-match. A player mentioned that they were kicked out of a match, and upon returning, the queue had over 5,000 other players — likely affected by the same issue.

DownDetector, a popular status tracking website, compiled a series of worldwide reports about the health of Overwatch‘s servers, with a peak of 5,179 occurrences at 4:07pm CT.

The anomaly resulted from “a recent update to an Arcade mode card,” according to Blizzard’s customer service account. The culprit is likely Overwatch‘s latest Experimental Card, which will introduce a series of changes to crowd control abilities such as Mei’s freeze and Reinhardt’s Earthshatter.


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