I always love covering feel-good news stories. It’s something the world at large is in desperate need of. While much of the gaming industry’s good news is light-hearted and fun, today’s news is heavier and far more complicated. Still, it sets a tone for improvement and acknowledgment that is overdue.
I don’t think I need to tell anyone who has played League of Legends or CSGO or any other online game that there is a level of toxicity that has unfortunately become the norm. From racist remarks and “jokes” to threats and outright bullying, this is a sad reality of what much of the conversation in online games has become.
For years, the gaming industry and independent companies have been trying to fix this and create a more welcoming in-game environment for varied levels of success. Still, it’s Ubisoft that has decided to stop kidding around and treat this level of online harassment with all the seriousness and severity it warrants. And if Ubisoft can pull off the impossible and make this work, this solution will hopefully bleed into the rest of the gaming world.
If I think of online gaming, I think primarily of friendship and shared times. However, I also see and have experienced the dark side that runs rampant in these spaces, and so does Ubisoft.
“We want to be on the right side of history,” says Damien Glorieux, a senior director of the Newcastle-based Ubisoft Customer Relationship Centre.
Ubisoft has now implemented protocols in five locations across the UK where staff monitors how players of Ubisoft games are getting on, personally responding to requests for help, and actively getting involved with the communities. But that’s not new; what is new is that Ubisoft has tied these five locations to local law enforcement.
The deal between Ubisoft and the Northumbria Police, with which they work, works in two parts. First, the specialist officers share their knowledge and expertise on harmful online interactions with the 200-strong team working at the centre in Newcastle, who then apply that training to their work.
Second, there is an agreement in place that whenever there is a threat to life or potential for serious harm spotted by staff, they can fast-track the information to the police, who will decide whether or not to act.
“We have millions of players, and tens of millions of interactions – so how can we spot incidents? It is daunting, but at the same time it is very important, which is why we wanted to sign this deal and try to make things right .We wanted to focus on the most extreme cases, make sure we do the right thing there because it gives us a solid foundation to build the rest of our work around.”
“This isn’t just a gaming problem, it’s is an internet problem, but there’s a real appetite to make the whole ecosystem a better place. What we’re working on closely with police on is triaging, you know, where we look at a case and decide – ‘right is this is one we can deal with in-house? Or is this something we need to pass on?'” – Damien Glorieux
Currently, less than 0.01% of cases the centre deals with require police intervention. Most of the time, accounts will be temporarily banned or permanently closed if players have breached a code of conduct.
From Northumbria Police’s side, Detective Chief Superintendent Deborah Alderson has been working with Ubisoft on this agreement.
“Policing is about prioritising protecting the vulnerable. That means all of our communities not just the ones that we see in person, but our online communities as well. Policing changes continually, demands evolve and we have different challenges all the time – our job is to evolve with it.” – Deborah Alderson
With so many of us spending more and more of our lives online, it’s become evident that more dynamic and working solutions to ensure a safe environment need to be in place, and the hope from both the Northumbria Police and Ubisoft is that games companies and other police forces across the UK can replicate this arrangement.
What do you think about this arrangement? Will it set into motion meaningful change? Let us know in the comments.