Faking nice is making the game a nicer place.
Overwatch boss, Jeff Kaplan, has revealed that toxicity in Overwatch is down by over a quarter in the Americas, and over 15 percent in Korea.
Jeff Kaplan has shared an update on the progress of the Overwatch team’s efforts at reducing toxicity in the game, and the amount of “abusive chat” in competitive matches is down by 26.4 percent in the Americas, while the percentage of daily players being abusive is down by 28.8 percent.
Instances of competitive matches with abusive chat is down 16.4 percent in Korea, and daily players being abusive is down 21.6 percent.
Last month, the new Endorsement system was introduced to the game, which allows players to “endorse” others at the end of the match for sportsmanship, good teamwork, and shot calling. Handing them out earns players XP and raises their “Endorsement Level.” Scaling rewards based on the level will eventually be able to be claimed.
The system has received mixed reviews from players, with some saying that it encourages people to be “fake nice,” while others have pointed out that as long as it encourages people to civil and polite, their motives in this scenario aren’t that important.
Kaplan said he is “really pleased with the community’s efforts to make OW a better place,” and added that the team will fine-tune the features to improve them, as well as explore “other systems to improve the gameplay environment.”
Alongside the Endorsement system, the same patch also overhauled Symmetra, and added a “Looking for Group” feature.
Shabana is a freelance writer who enjoys JRPGs, wine, and not finishing games. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.