Does the chat room in your gaming sessions get to be a free-for-all? One gaming company wants to put an end to that. Riot Games announced that starting in July, it will be listening in on the voice chats between Valorant players.
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Riot Games’ Announcement
Riot Games has a plan in place to stop abusive comments in the online chats during Valorant gameplay. It’s something it laid the groundwork for more than a year ago.
The game-maker made a change to its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service in April 2021. It allows Riot Games to “record and evaluate in-game voice communications when a report for that type of behavior is submitted.”
If you say something offensive in a game and a fellow player lodges a complaint, Riot’s new policy gives them the right to listen in on your chat and decide for themselves if your comments are disruptive.
With the rule on the books for some time, Riot Games is finally putting it to use and will make good on the threat starting July 13. If you like to use offensive language when playing Valorant, take note.
However, when Riot Games begins monitoring the Valorant chats, it won’t initially be to restrict “disruptive behavior.”
The goal on July 13 will be to “help train our language models and get the tech in a good enough place for a beta launch,” said the game-maker. Next month it will launch the new “voice evaluation system in North America/English only.”
“Voice evaluation would provide a way to collect clear evidence that could verify any violations of behavioral policies before we can take any action,” said Riot Games. It will help them understand what they’re dealing with and “help us share back to players why a particular action resulted in a penalty.”
“Brand New Tech” for Valorant
Riot Games is phrasing it as “brand new tech” for Valorant – but no matter how the company phrases it, there are bound to be players upset that their voice chat will be monitored.
“This is brand new tech, and there will for sure be growing pains. But the promise of a safer and more inclusive environment for everyone who chooses to play is worth it,” said the company in its announcement.
This is a continuation of tactics Riot Games has used to keep a safe environment in Valorant. Earlier, it started a “muted words list” that allows Valorant players to add words they consider offensive.
But perhaps a company that calls itself “Riot Games” shouldn’t be so surprised at the chatter of its players. It seems they were courting violence to begin with.
While you could opt out of the voice chat to avoid being monitored and use Discord instead, know that it doesn’t come without its own troubles.
Image credit: Riot Games
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