Toxic ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II’ players are muted in voice and text chat

Play just about any major competitive online game long enough and you’re sure to run into some venomous players saying offensive things in voice or text chat. Activision is do a little more to tackle those jerks with more in-depth moderation tools in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty Warzone 2.0.

When they confirm that a player is engaged in toxic voice or text chat, the games moderation teams now have the option to mute that person in all chat channels. So while their comments may not justify a complete ban, players who abuse in-game chat can be silenced. Activision will still rely on users to flag disruptive players via in-game reports. Riot Games, on the other hand, has started proactive surveillance Valorant voice chat for toxicity.

Before they start playing Modern Warfare II or War Zone 2.0, players must read and agree to a code of conduct. This includes an acknowledgment that they will not engage in harassment or intimidation, nor will they make bigoted comments.

If you report a difficult Call of Duty player, you can also add more context. The reporting system now includes a dialog where you can explain in more detail what happened. Activision says it will use these tools in all future Call of Duty titles.

These moderation tools are not particularly new. for one thing, overwatch has long allowed players to enter their reasons for reporting someone. However, Modern Warfare II is already one of the biggest games out there, after a win over $1 billion in sales in just 10 days. There is no doubt War Zone 2.0 will also have a large player base after that game goes live on November 16. Having better moderation tools to deal with disruptive cretins and provide a more positive experience for other players is rarely a bad thing.