Ubisoft has implemented a new system in Rainbow Six Siege designed to deliver instant bans to players who use hate speech in the game.
As detailed in Rainbow Six Siege’s Code of Conduct, “Ubisoft has decided to launch an automated temporary banning system in respect to Offensive Language or Behaviour, Threats and Harassment. This system will automatically temporary ban players from the Game when they use abusive words in the in-Game chat.”
The first time a player falls foul of the automated temporary banning system, they will be locked out for 30 minutes, with second and third offences generating two-hour bans. But Ubisoft will also operate a “three strikes and out policy” – the company says: “After three offenses: an investigation will be conducted and may lead to a permanent ban (maximum penalty)”.
A Rainbow Six Siege post on Twitter saying: “Fighting against toxicity and cleaning up the Siege environment is a very real and important issue” attracted a predictable string of outraged responses, with some Twitter users claiming that such a system in an M-rated game amounts to “censorship” and others pointing out that the sort of Rainbow Six Siege players posting such comments are exactly the ones likely to abuse others in the game.
Ubisoft also posted on the official Rainbow Six Siege account “No system is perfect, but it is working as intended in a majority of the cases we’ve been seeing. This is not our final update for dealing with toxicity — we will continue to observe and make changes and expansions as needed.”
Toxic behaviour in online games has become a big issue in recent years, and all attempts by publishers to stamp it out or at least minimise it should be applauded.