Long gone are the early days of online gaming, the wild west where wanton and lawless players were free to lie, cheat, steal and rage as they pleased. Developers and publishers were none too fond of these players for obvious reasons; but as the gaming industry has grown bigger and more profitable over the years, these companies have become bolder and more eager to put these toxic players in their place.
Toxic and abusive behaviour is a real and endemic problem in any gaming community, with issues relating to such behaviour exponentially multiplying as the userbase grows. From "discretionary" community guidelines policing harassment, to taking direct legal action against hackers to banning "one-trick" players, companies are becoming increasingly hypersensitive when it comes to policing their userbase. While some of these actions are arguably misguided, companies who are taking a pro-active stance towards toxicity are hoping to set the standard for better behaviour.
The newly formed Fair Play Alliance recently announced their debut at GDC. With over 30 participating companies so far, including big names such as Blizzard, Riot, Intel and Xbox to name a few, the FPA is hoping to turn the tide against toxicity.
The Fair Play Alliance is a coalition of gaming professionals and companies committed to developing quality games. We provide an open forum for the games industry to collaborate on research and best practices that encourage fair play and healthy communities in online gaming. We envision a world where games are free of harassment, discrimination, and abuse, and where players can express themselves through play.
While the FPA has set out to tackle the impossible, with the collaboration of these big power players, maybe we will be seeing a positive change in our communities sooner rather than later.
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