Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan recently revealed how they deal with smurf accounts. This explains why many veteran players have trouble finding opponents despite using their alternate accounts.
Dealing With Smurf Accounts
A lot of Overwatch veteran players create new accounts popularly known as "smurfs". There are several reasons why they do this. Mainly, it can help them achieve higher rankings by wiping out the "newbies" in the matches.
Fortunately, Overwatch has a system that deals with veteran players using smurf accounts. One player known only as Valmek complained about the long queue it takes just to play a match. Kaplan replied that the game was designed to keep veterans away from the novices.
The game director said that the Overwatch matchmaking system can detect a highly skilled player despite using a brand new account. As a result, the game tries to match smurf account holder with similar players. Obviously, the search will take some time before a suitable match is found.
Kaplan said the game's system is designed to protect the newer players from being taken advantage by the veterans. He suggested though that "new" but highly skilled players should form a group of their own. By doing this, they could get out of the new players pool and have more success in finding opponents with their same skill rating (SR).
Overwatch Players Reaction
Many Overwatch players applauded Kaplan and his team for implementing such safeguards in the game. Some players though boasted that they were able to get around the matchmaking restrictions. It's possible that the Overwatch safeguard is not foolproof but it seems to be working based on post's reactions.
About Overwatch
Overwatch is a first-person shooter game where players are grouped in to two teams with six members each. Players assumed various playable characters such as D.Va or Bastion. It was developed and released by Blizzard on May 2016. Overwatch is one of the most popular multiplayer games right now with more than 25 million registered players.
