In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, ongoing protests, and riots across the globe, Infinity Ward has decided that the time to combat racist usernames in Call of Duty is now.
In a statement released on Twitter, the studio said that “there is no place for racist content in our game,” and later admitted that they “need to do a better job” of policing offensive names.
— Infinity Ward (@InfinityWard) June 3, 2020
Infinity Ward stated that they’re already “issuing thousands of daily bans of racist and hate-oriented names.” They then laid out specific steps they’re taking to combat the issue. This includes “adding additional resources to monitor and ID racist content,” restricting the number of name changes users have access to, adding more “in-game reporting systems to increase the number of bans by hour,” and making it easier overall to report offenses. Finally, they’ll also be increasing the amount of permanent bans to repeat offenders.
Not everyone is happy with the timing of this move, however. Some are upset that Infinity Ward waited for a national tragedy to start implementing these new rules. Offensive usernames have been a part of Call of Duty’s online DNA for a while, and the fact that action is only being taken now is being seen as nothing more than moral posturing.
This is coming two days after Infinity Ward announced the delay of Modern Warfare’s fourth season, as they cited their support for “those speaking up for equality, justice, and change.” Many fans who were excited for new content couldn’t understand how postponing the new season would help solve anything. Others claimed that it was the right move. Whatever the case, Infinity Ward has yet to say anything about a new date for the release of Season Four, but it sounds like it won’t be starting anytime this week.
There is no news or updates to share on Season 4. We are not expecting the new season to start this week.
When there is an update, we will provide it.
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) June 3, 2020
Overall, these changes may be coming a little late, but they do seem significant, and hopefully, it’ll end up making a difference in the end.
