UBISOFT has teamed up with League of Legends publisher Riot Games to try and reduce toxicity in their player bases.
League of Legends is particularly known for its toxic player base, which has deterred newer players from entering the game.
The logo for the new partnership.
The companies are launching a new research project called Zero Harm in Comms.
This project hopes to better understand how AI technology can be used to prevent harmful interactions as soon as they happen.
The aim is to mitigate disruptive behaviour from players so that their games can be a safer place for players.
Yves Jacquier at Ubisoft said in a press release: “Disruptive player behaviours is an issue that we take very seriously.
“But also one that is very difficult to solve.
“At Ubisoft, we have been working on concrete measures to ensure safe and enjoyable experiences.
“But we believe that, by coming together as an industry, we will be able to tackle this issue more effectively.
“Through this technological partnership with Riot Games, we are exploring how to better prevent in-game toxicity as designers of these environments with a direct link to our communities.”
While many companies try to cut down on harmful comments in their games, this is one of the first times that two huge companies have worked together to crack down.
Wesley Kerr at Riot Games said: “Disruptive behaviour isn’t a problem that is unique to games – every company that has an online social platform is working to address this challenging space.
“That is why we’re committed to working with industry partners like Ubisoft who believe in creating safe communities and fostering positive experiences in online spaces.
“This project is just an example of the wider commitment and work that we’re doing across Riot to develop systems that create healthy, safe, and inclusive interactions with our games.”
In a recent League of Legends update, measures were introduced to try and reduce the use of foul language.
Auto-mod has been adapted to detect foul and abusive language more easily, and deal penalties faster.
The team at Riot also claims that it will be able to “identify the nuance between more egregious chat and less-severe, but still inappropriate, chat.”.
We don’t know how the research will be used, but it is likely that more moderation adjustments will be made to games in future updates.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
