Call Of Duty Makes Game-Changing Move Against Toxic Players

Toxic gamers are one of the biggest problems in many game communities, players who take things a little bit too seriously — and angrily. In first-person shooters and online competitive games, toxicity usually takes the form of making offensive statements, getting angry at teammates, or raging over an impending loss. Though there is an option to mute voice chat in most "Call of Duty" games, there's never been a way for a player to be fully silenced for everyone. Now, for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" and the highly anticipated "Warzone 2.0," a brand-new reporting and punishment feature will allow moderators to ban specific players entirely from using the in-game chat, both via voice and text.

The update was revealed in a blog post by the "Call of Duty" staff on November 7, 2022. Alongside this new ability for "Call of Duty" moderators comes a new punishment system and Code of Conduct as well as improvements to the player reporting system. Though these new systems won't be retroactively added to older "Call of Duty" games, according to the post, "these features will also launch with 'Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0' later this year and is foundational for all future 'Call of Duty' titles going forward." 

The latest "Call of Duty" update blog details how these new moderation and reporting features will work. The main alteration to the report screen is a new "more details" section, which allows players provide more context for the report. "We know that in-game situations are not always one-size fits all," the blog post reads. Now, instead of checking a box in a multiple choice menu, players can explain exactly what happened — and exactly what was said in the case of voice chat abuse. This may help moderators to verify reports, cross-referencing multiple reports on the same player and painting a clearer picture of what happened. 

Players whose offensive behavior is confirmed by the "Call of Duty" moderators may be subject to silencing, but not at first. For the first offense, a reported player may be subject to a temporary ban. For the second offense, players can temporarily banned and barred from playing with friends. Offending players can also be muted globally after the second offense. As with most punishments for player reports in games, it's mostly up to the moderators' discretion when deciding which cases get silenced and which don't.

"Combating toxicity is an ongoing commitment," the blog post reads. "We look forward to making progress on this front together as we continue in the fight to make 'Call of Duty' fair and fun for all."