Online games without chats? Clash of Clans has long tried that, but now it is changing a lot. How that is supposed to succeed, MeinMMO asked in an interview.
The vast majority of online games are in one way or another a social experience. However, especially when it comes to not just cooperative gameplay, but also PvP conflicts, insults often fly in the chat and things can get toxic. It is no surprise, then, that some games eventually forgo overarching chat functionality and only allow direct communication with guild or clan members.
This was also the case with Clash of Clans, a now long-successful game where players attack each other’s villages and band together into clans. In 2019, the developer Supercell decided to discontinue the global chat, meaning communication was only possible with clan members.
Clash of Clans has always impressed with its absurd trailers:
However, the community has repeatedly requested social features. After about 7 years, chats are now returning, in the form of different groups to better connect with one another.
We had the opportunity to talk to David Burke, the Product Manager of Clash of Clans, and asked him some questions – such as what the new features are, how they intend to tackle toxicity, or how youth protection is ensured. You can view the full interview here. Enjoy!
MeinMMO: Why was the global chat originally removed and why are you bringing it back now?
David Burke: When we discontinued the original global chat in 2019, questions regarding moderation and player safety played a significant role. Open communication platforms provide great opportunities for players to connect with each other – but they also come with substantial responsibility.
Over the years, the community has continuously signaled that they wanted a way to exchange with other players beyond the boundaries of their own clan. That is why we decided to redevelop the feature from the ground up. Our goal was to bring back the social interactions that many players desired while integrating modern safety and moderation systems from the start.
What has changed compared to the original version of the global chat?
The new global chat is not simply a return of the old system. It has been completely overhauled and rebuilt from the ground up. The biggest change is that the global chat no longer consists of a single worldwide chat room. Instead, it is based on three different areas: groups, communities, and the town square.
This allows players to choose the type of environment in which they want to exchange ideas – be it in a smaller group of like-minded individuals or in a large community with tens of thousands of members. At the same time, this structure offers significantly more possibilities for moderation, management, and the organization of conversations than the original system. Although scaling these possibilities for a global player base is an ongoing process, the tools available to us today provide a very good starting point.
More features and more control over who can be read
What new features does this feature offer?
In addition to the ability to connect with players all over the world, users can now create and manage their own chat groups. Groups can be public, invitation-only, or private, and can be shared via search, QR codes, or invitation links. To make conversations more lively, we have also added emotes and reactions.
Large family-friendly groups can grow into communities with up to 50,000 members. Additionally, we have introduced the town square – an area where creators, community managers, and special guests can share official updates, events, and community news. And that is just the beginning. In the future, we want to further enhance the value of groups, improve findability so that players can easily find the rooms that suit them, optimize performance on different devices, and deepen the integration with clans and other existing in-game groups.
What measures are in place against toxicity and abuse?
The safety of players was a top priority throughout the development of the new chat experience. Every message can be reported directly, and players cannot share website links or promote external contact options through the system.
Furthermore, anti-spam measures are in place to reduce abuse and unwanted behavior. Group owners and administrators also have moderation tools to remove or ban users when necessary. Communities must use family-friendly settings and are subject to stricter moderation standards.
Our approach is to combine technical protective mechanisms with community moderation to encourage positive interactions and create a healthier social environment for all. Since the relaunch, we also actively analyze the actual use of the feature to continuously develop and optimize these systems.
Clash of Clans has many young players. What protective mechanisms are specifically in place for this target group?
The protection of younger players was an important part of the development process. Players under 16 can only find and join family-friendly groups. These groups employ stricter language filters and additional protective measures to ensure a safer environment. Additionally, all communities are family-friendly by default. Features often associated with abuse – such as sharing links – are disabled. In combination with reporting systems, language filters, and anti-spam measures, these precautions aim to create a secure environment where players from all over the world can communicate and exchange responsibly.
How do you handle communication in online games? Do you find it good to be able to exchange ideas with other people – even if they are your enemies on the battlefield? Or are you quite glad that you don’t have to read what others are saying and how they insult each other?
Some companies take a different approach to toxicity – sometimes very bizarre. For example, Blizzard wanted to enforce a real-name requirement for all forums.
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