Electronic Arts is well-aware that some of its games have to deal with online harassment and that it’s not really the easiest problem to tackle. However, the company announced that it will start to work towards trying to create a less toxic space for games (albeit, a small one).
Electronic Arts made use of the latest Gamescom expo, which took place in Cologne, Germany, and held the very first meeting of the Healthy Communities Player Council – a group of players that, Electronic Arts says, work alongside the company to develop solutions to combat ‘online toxicity’.
“Online toxicity is just that – toxic. It’s unhealthy for everyone. And, as you can imagine, sharing personal stories about hate, harassment, and violence is never easy.” Electronic Arts said. “As a result, this initial meeting was a closed session to allow those who attended to discuss their views freely.”
The 13 members of the Game Changers program were joined by Electronic Arts health and safety employees, including WorldWide Customer Experience (WWCE), EA Security, EA Studios, and Global Analytics and Insights.
The meeting approached a number of issues pertaining to the main problem: they shared updates on the Building Healthy Communities initiative, insights on the updated harassment reporting tool as well as tips on personal protection and as data protection.
Suggestions were also shared, which included two-factor authentication on Electronic Arts accounts, which would, in theory, discourage banned players from creating new accounts soon after their ban, AI moderation for chats and ways to improve cultural representation for game characters.
Electronic Arts plans to take part in other events with the Player Council through the year in order to gain more insight and provide feedback on the online gaming community and how it should deal with online harassment and online toxic behavior in gaming in general.
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