The video game industry has had enough. A large alliance aims to put an end to toxic players and establish uniform rules. Companies behind games like LoL, WoW, EVE Online, and Fortnite are on board. Twitch and Discord are also involved.
Toxicity is one of the biggest problems in online games today. In almost every game, insults, attacks, discriminatory remarks, or even death threats are rampant. Players of League of Legends or Overwatch can attest to this.
The problem is evidently so large that developers and publishers now want to pool their knowledge and work together on solutions. They have founded the “Fair Play Alliance”. Here, companies like Blizzard, Riot, Twitch, CCP, Discord, as well as Epic Games and even Intel collaborate to combat toxicity in games.
In an interview with Kotaku, Kimberly Voll from Riot spoke about the Fair Play Alliance.
According to her, the Fair Play Alliance is not only about establishing a uniform code of conduct, but also about finding the reasons behind player behavior. For example, game design can contribute to making players more likely to show their worst side.
Both Riot and Blizzard have gained considerable experience in this area. They also admit to some mistakes and hope to learn from them as a community to lead the entire industry toward a more positive future. They want to not only find solutions but also serve as a platform for discussion and bring the topic more into the public eye.
No more difference between “Online” and “IRL” – Everything is reality
The guidelines are also intended to be enforced outside of games, for example, for well-known streamers. Something similar has already happened with the “Pepe” meme in the Overwatch League.
“On one hand, we are aware that we are treading on thin ice when we want to enforce these values outside of games. On the other hand, everything is online these days. There is no difference between ‘IRL’ and ‘online’ anymore. It’s all reality today. Streamers represent a culture that is bigger than League of Legends or any other game. They represent online life.”
However, the Fair Play Alliance is currently just at the beginning of their efforts. Voll joked that while there is already a website, there isn’t much more. Whether clear guidelines, smart ideas, and overarching visions for a more positive environment in video games will emerge from this remains to be seen. At least the efforts are commendable.
Because if Blizzard, Riot, Epic, and many others collaborate, then it must be a matter of great importance.
What do you think of this Fair Play Alliance? Is it good that many big companies are pulling together? Do you believe this can make a difference? Or is such a coalition too powerful?
