Xbox Head Phil Spencer Suggests Banned Players Lists Could Cross Games

In a recent interview Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, said that he would like to have a ban for toxic players that spans different games and platforms. This topic of toxicity has been at the forefront of video game news for quite some time but has recently made a surge.

Video games are often a way for people to unwind and find escapism from the real world. Whether it be playing a cozy game like Stardew Valley or playing an action RPG like Bloodborne there is always something for players to do to get their minds off of the real world. The unfortunate side of this is that many of these online multiplayer games, like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, come with a certain level of toxicity. Players are able to chat with each other either through a headset or through a chatbox and oftentimes when things get heated, they start to swear and yell at each other. Through the chatbox, some of this rhetoric gets blocked, but when it’s through a headset there is no way to censor it. A recent study showed that Rainbow Six Siege and FIFA 21 players swear the most during their time in-game. Usually, if a player becomes too abusive towards others, they will get banned from that game. The ban can last minutes, hours, or even be permanent depending on the type of ban/how egregious the abuse was. However, the player is only banned from that specific game, or console, and can move on to play somewhere else.

PC Gamer recently reported on an interview with the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, in regards to toxic players and bans. In the interview, Spencer mentions that he wished that players had the ability to ban someone from multiple different games and platforms. For example, if someone were to be banned from playing on their Xbox they would also be banned from playing on PC with that same account/username. This goes much further than bans previously in place, like the Call of Duty ban that stopped players from having inappropriate names. Spencer hopes that the future bans would allow players to have the option to just block one specific player on their different accounts, instead of having to deal with that player’s toxicity again before getting the chance to block them on a different platform.

The implications of this could mean a big change for players moving forward. It is unknown when, or if, this new ban style will be rolled out, and how exactly it would work. Some bans are placed on a player’s gamertag, while others are placed on the IP itself, and if a player has access to different accounts on different platforms the ban might not be effective if it is only placed on the gamertag. It is also unknown whether or not this ban would be placed by Microsoft/Xbox across games and platforms, or whether or not it would simply be a player blocking another player.

Whether or not this new system of banning is coming down the pipeline, it is nice to have the head of Xbox discussing ways to stop toxic behavior in games. Hopefully, this will mean more focus is put towards finding permanent solutions in the near future.

Source: PC Gamer

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