Blizzard is taking aggressive new steps to address the toxicity of Overwatch 2, including plans for a system that will record all voice chats (opens in new tab) and issue bans based on transcript analysis by a "chat review tool." ...

Overwatch, like many other shooters, has suffered from crappy player behavior pretty much from the start: in October 2017, less than a year after launch, we undermining the game's overarching message, we said (opens in new tab). A few years later, Blizzard talked about using machine learning (opens in new tab) to combat abusive chat, and it seemed to have had a positive effect: in November 2020, then-president J. Allen Brack said that this technology "has resulted in toxic text chat as well as an overall recidivism rate . has been reduced (open in new tab) remarkably."

The updated system, which will go live shortly after Overwatch 2 is released, will extend these capabilities by incorporating automatic transcription of voice chat recordings when disruptive behavior is reported. Once the transcriptions are completed, they will be analyzed for abuse using Blizzard's internal tools; Blizzard only stated vaguely that the new transcription tool "will allow teams to address disruptive voice chat," but not what will happen in the event of a positive outcome. He did not mention.

Importantly, Blizzard stated that neither recorded data nor transcribed data will be stored for the long term: audio files will be erased "promptly" after being transcribed, and transcribed text files will be deleted within 30 days of their creation.

"The system relies on players reporting disruptive behavior in-game as soon as they encounter it," Blizzard explains, "as it does not store voice chat data long-term. In other words, to give us the best chance to detect, catch, and prevent disruptive players, please report disruptive behavior as soon as it occurs in-game." Your report is important. Player reporting is one of the most effective ways to identify and address disruptive behavior as quickly as possible."

The prospect of an omnipresent machine listening to and judging my voice chat is a bit dystopian, although it strikes me as the first brick in the dark reality meme "Lowtax bans hentai (opens in new tab)" that eventually leads to war with Skynet, Overwatch 2 is not the first game to actually employ this technology. That honor goes to Valorant (opens in new tab), which began testing the "voice rating" system in July. Initial reactions to the news were not entirely positive, as many players expressed concerns about corporate intrusion and the actual fate of the collected data, but it does not appear to have had much of an adverse effect on the game or player numbers. In fact, Riot recently announced plans to step up its efforts against toxicity by expanding the hunt for disruptive behavior in the game (opens in new tab).

Starting October 4, Blizzard will require Overwatch players on all platforms, including consoles, to give their Battle.net accounts a phone number if they want to activate Overwatch 2, along with automated voice recording. Each account must have a unique phone number, and there are certain types of numbers that cannot be used, including prepaid and VOIP. With Overwatch 2 now free-to-play, the potential for cheaters with multiple accounts to re-enter the game is greater than ever, and according to Blizzard, the SMS protection system will both prevent accounts from being stolen and make it two purposes: to prevent accounts from being stolen and to make it more difficult for banned players to infiltrate the game again.

"Overwatch 2 gives us the opportunity to continue to level up and iterate the system against disruptive behavior and cheating in a way that simple updates cannot," Blizzard said.

Overwatch 2 will launch on October 4 and will completely replace the original Overwatch (opens in new tab). The audio recording transcription system is expected to be up and running "within the next few weeks."