Toxicity is a problem in almost every online community, but it’s especially prevalent in online shooters, and especially Call of Duty, where the racism and sexism present in the online lobbies have became a meme. Activision, however, is trying to create a safer environment for their audience. It’s an admirable effort, and now we get to see what we’re doing.
“We are committed to delivering a fun gameplay experience for all of our players,” Activision wrote on its blog providing an upgrade on its anti-toxicity initiative. “There’s no place for toxic behavior, hate speech or harassment of any kind in our games or our society. We are focused on making positive steps forward, and together celebrating the best fans in the world.”
Activision announced that they had banned “over 350,000 accounts for racist names or toxic behavior based on player-submitted reports and an extensive review of our player-name database” across Call of Duty: Warzone, Black Ops Cold War, Modern Warfare, and Call of Duty: Mobile over the last twelve months. Activision also said that they want to continue to improve ” player reporting capabilities and moderation, as well as addressing voice chat to help combat toxicity,” and acknowledged that they still have a long way to go.