'Overwatch' Starts Muting Known Toxic Players From Xbox Voice Chat
"Overwatch" has a new update just released by Blizzard, and among the new content and balance fixes is a small note that goes a long way towards improving the game's increasingly toxic community.
The new update is up and live, bringing to "Overwatch" players the new "Junkertown" map, as well as the revamp of D.Va and Mercy, plus more fixes to the game. A brief note in the patch notes also adds an interesting tidbit for players on Xbox Live.
Players on the Xbox One whose reputation on Microsoft's Xbox Live network has deteriorated to "Avoid Me" will still be able to play the multiplayer, as usual. They will do so quietly, however, since, starting a few days ago, "they will no longer be able to use the in-game voice communication," as the patch notes said.
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It's a good middle ground between keeping these toxic players around and booting them out of multiplayer completely, as Engadget notes. They may still be uncooperative players on the field, but their teammates will not have to hear about it from them, with the new update.
The worst offenders would still be banned from the game, as game director Jeff Kaplan said in an earlier video update that addressed the increasingly hostile "Overwatch" community. Unlike, say, Valve's "Dota 2," the team would rather not isolate these problem players in their own multiplayer group.
Blizzard would rather suspend or ban them, Kaplan said, as he noted how the moderation team has already meted out punishment to over 480,000 players. It remains to be seen if the same update will be applied to the PlayStation 4, as well.
The video below shows "Overwatch" director Jeff Kaplan reminding players to "play nice, play fair," before they are booted out of the game by Blizzard's new tools designed to rid the community of its toxic members. The latest update is just in time for the game's special discount deals on Xbox Live this week.
