Each of the companies has published a post on their own site, titled “Our Shared Commitment to Safer Gaming,” which outlines plans designed to make each of the platform holders’ online spaces a safe place for gamers of all ages. The statement is broken down into a set of areas that outline how the trio of companies intends to fight toxicity and hate in all areas of online gaming. Each company states – outright – that they believe hate, harassment, and exploitation of young players have “no place in gaming.” First is prevention, which details a suite of measures designed to educate and inform players and parents in order to prevent harassment and bullying in online spaces. Some of the preventative measures outlines include: educating parents and players about parental safety controls, keeping guardians informed about terms of use, codes of conduct, and enforcement tools, and plans to invest in technology that can aid in the prevention of unacceptable behavior before it happens. Microsoft’s obscenity filter is a good example of this kind of tech. The second arm of the initiative focuses on partnership – whether that’s working together with players, law enforcement agencies, industry regulators, or other gaming communities in order to tighten up player safety. The on-going efforts from PEGI and the ERSB are a good indicator of this kind of forward-thinking collaboration. Lastly, the posts outline “responsibility”. Here, each of the three big companies promises to give players more robust tools to report harassment and vows to respond to all “lawful requests” from law enforcement, and take player reports seriously. Though, as it stands, this is just a list of vague ideas, it surely offers gamers that think the platform holders have more of a responsibility to manage their products some peace of mind. It’s a step in the right direction and one that seemingly promises to improve the experience for all gamers in the online space. It’s nice to see Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo come together to say, without any room for interpretation, that they will not tolerate hate and harassment.
