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Psyonix looks to automate banning of foul-mouthed Rocket League players

The new system seeks to ensure that the game stays "a consistently-safe, harassment-free place where players of all ages and backgrounds can come together."

Alissa McAloon, Publisher

August 2, 2017

1 Min Read
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Staying on top of player-filed harassment and misconduct reports is a never-ending struggle for developers that maintain a competitive online game, especially one with millions of players.

In an attempt to trim down some of that workload and make the process more effective, Rocket League dev Psyonix is rolling out a system that will automatically resolve reports if offending players uttered certain words or racial slurs.

Psyonix says that its receives thousands of reports from Rocket League players a day, most of which deal with in-game abuse and harassment. The ‘Language Ban’ system rolling out this week automatically assesses those reports and records players that frequently use language from an internal list of words and slurs. 

After a certain amount of repeated offenses, the system automatically doles out bans to offending players, starting first at 24 hours and escalating incrementally until a permanent ban is issued.

While the system itself is automatic, Psyonix notes that it is paying close attention to the effectiveness of the new system and will tweak both its ban policies and system logic as needed down the road.

About the Author

Alissa McAloon

Publisher, GameDeveloper.com

As the Publisher of Game Developer, Alissa McAloon brings a decade of experience in the video game industry and media. When not working in the world of B2B game journalism, Alissa enjoys spending her time in the worlds of immersive sandbox games or dabbling in the occasional TTRPG.

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