Marvel Rivals has long suffered with bad actors throwing around hate speech in online matches, but in an effort to clean up the hero shooter, developer NetEase is now promising "significantly harsher penalties" for severe or repeat offenders.
Like many competitive multiplayer games, unfortunately, Marvel Rivals has a problem with toxic speech being used more frequently than one would expect. In a recent online post, NetEase says it's doubling down on moderating the game.
"A positive communication environment is a vital component of any team-based competitive experience," the studio tweets. "We have always prioritized speech moderation in-game, and we continue to pay close attention to your feedback regarding toxic behavior. Whether through text or voice chat, behaviors such as insults, malicious harassment, discrimination, and hate speech not only hurt other players but also destroy normal in-game communication and the overall match experience."
NetEase says it has now "further escalated our penalties for speech violations" and sanctions will differ depending on the "nature, severity and historical record of the violation." The developer will also dish out "significantly harsher penalties against players involved in severe offenses or repeated violations."
"We respect the right of our players to express differing opinions, but normal communication and discussion should never become an excuse for malicious attacks, discrimination, or the harassment of others. Our stance on moderating toxic speech is clear and resolute. We will absolutely not treat these behaviors as acceptable simply because they are unfortunately common in competitive gaming," it adds. Hear, hear.
The Marvel Rivals developer isn't stopping here, either - it calls speech moderation an "ongoing, long-term commitment" and will "continually refine our systems" to spot and penalize toxic behavior in the future.
Many in the Marvel Rivals subreddit agreed that toxic speech had seeped too deep into the game. "I haven't played in weeks," one person writes. "The game has its fun and its problems, but what really put me off was not being able to actually use chat without players letting off their in real-life racial frustrations on other players in a Disney Marvel game."
Not everyone is confident in NetEase's ability to identify actual toxic behavior, though. Some players report that the game sometimes incorrectly flags most swear words - even ones used in compliments - as offences.
"If they have a human review toxicity instead of an AI that would be far better," another player writes.
