Ubisoft and Riot team up for research project targeting toxicity in online games

Ubisoft and Riot Games have launched a joint research project designed to combat harmful content in online game chats.

Announcing the tech partnership, Rainbow Six Siege maker Ubisoft and League of Legends and Valorant studio Riot said building safe and meaningful online gaming experiences can only be achieved through collective action and knowledge sharing.

The companies said the ‘Zero Harm in Comms’ research initiative “aims to create a cross-industry shared database and labeling ecosystem that gathers in-game data, which will better train AI-based preemptive moderation tools to detect and mitigate disruptive behavior”.

Ubisoft and Riot plan to share the learnings of the initial research phase with the entire games industry next year.

“Disruptive player behaviors are an issue that we take very seriously but also one that is very difficult to solve,” said Yves Jacquier, executive director of Ubisoft La Forge, the company’s research and development arm. “Through this technological partnership with Riot Games, we are exploring how to better prevent in-game toxicity as designers of these environments with a direct link to our communities.”

Wesley Kerr, Riot’s head of technology research, also commented: “Disruptive behavior isn’t a problem that is unique to games – every company that has an online social platform is working to address this challenging space. That is why we’re committed to working with industry partners like Ubisoft who believe in creating safe communities and fostering positive experiences in online spaces.”

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