Play just about any big competitive online game for long enough and you’ll surely run into some toxic players who say offensive things in voice or text chat. Activision is doing a bit more to take on those jerks with more in-depth moderation tools in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty Warzone 2.0.
When they confirm a player has engaged in toxic voice or text chat, the games’ moderation teams now have the option to mute that person in all chat channels. So, while their remarks might not warrant a complete ban, players who abuse in-game chat might find themselves silenced. Activision will still rely on users to flag disruptive players through in-game reports. Riot Games, on the other hand, has started proactively monitoring Valorant voice chat for toxicity.
Before they start playing Modern Warfare II or Warzone 2.0, players have to read and agree to a code of conduct. This includes an acknowledgement that they won’t engage in bullying or harassment, nor make any bigoted comments.
In addition, when you report a troublesome Call of Duty player, you’ll be able to add more context. The reporting system now includes a dialog box, where you can explain what happened in more detail. Activision says it will use these tools in all future Call of Duty titles.
These moderation tools aren’t particularly novel. For one thing, Overwatch has long allowed players to type in their reasons for reporting someone. However, Modern Warfare II is already one of the biggest games around, having racked up over $1 billion in sales in just 10 days. There’s no doubt that Warzone 2.0 will also have a large player base after that game goes live on November 16th. Having better moderation tools to clamp down on disruptive cretins and offer a more positive experience for other players is rarely a bad thing.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publishing.
