How smurfs are becoming the last nail in the Overwatch coffin

The Overwatch Christmas Sale has ended, and the game is now seeing a whole new wave of smurf accounts. Smurfs are players who are normally high ranking but buy low-level accounts for a variety of reasons. Some of these Overwatch players just want to grind back to high rank quickly, and others just like playing against easier opponents.

It’s getting to where Overwatch feels unplayable for low-ranking players. Overwatch is already in a pretty poor state, where there’s no new content other than skins and the occasional map. The announcement of Overwatch 2 meant the end of Overwatch content, and this new wave of smurfs could be that last nail in the game’s coffin.

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The number of smurfs increase when Overwatch goes on sale

Overwatch’s ranked scene can already frustrate, but when a lobby is full of smurfs, things become so much worse. Smurfs often have accounts at the highest echelons of gameplay, and they stomp their way through Bronze, Silver, and Gold with ease. Anytime the game goes on sale, players can expect more smurfs, and that’s something the community is aware of.

The post-Christmas sale means more smurfs and more frustrated players. Players feel like they simply cannot handle playing the game anymore since all they see are smurfs. At least one per game can already tilt the balance of power very seriously.

It was a topic of discussion on Reddit recently as well, where players are pointing out no fewer than one smurf per game. Many players over the holidays are playing for the first time, and being obliterated by a Grandmaster smurf can be demoralizing. If it continues to happen game after game without end, those players start to lose interest and go play something else.

Players are considering quitting because it’s just a never-ending problem. The primary cause of the problem is the sale itself. When the game becomes cheaper to play, it’s easier to make smurf accounts in the game and dominate games. There’s no proper punishment for smurfs either.

The Overwatch community, for the most part, seems unified on this issue. Social media is abuzz with players venting their frustration about smurfing. Many are seeing a mix of players who have never been on a map before, combined with players that have thousands of hours in the game.

There are also people who think matchmaking gets worse during the sale season. Players will just have to wait and see if Blizzard makes a decision on how to handle the growing smurf problem.