Valorant’s newness and popularity that’s resulted in an influx of players with voice chat at their disposal has generated numerous discussions about negative in-game behavior and experiences during the game’s closed beta. It’s an issue that’s far from unheard of and is addressed in most popular games that have various types of built-in communications, and for Valorant’s executive producer Anna “Riot SuperCakes” Donlon, it’s a problem the team plans to deal with sooner rather than later. Donlon addressed the matter in a recent reassurance of the team’s anti-harassment stance and said there’d be a code of conduct and more shared soon to set the foundation for Riot’s player behavior goals.
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Donlon shared thoughts about player behavior and Riot’s plans in a post on the game’s site following online interactions throughout the past week or so with others who’ve raised concern about in-game harassment. Streamers and Riot employees themselves haven’t been immune to the problems, but there are many more who’ve probably faced similar issues and haven’t had the ability to elevate their issues to be noticed.
To those players, Donlon said dealing with negative player behavior in Valorant is a priority.
.@RiotSuperCakes and @RiotZiegler are back this week with some commitments on disruptive player behavior and more about what’s going on with our servers. Catch up on the latest: https://t.co/QTFVMCdSGK pic.twitter.com/p2i4Zgm60q
— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) May 6, 2020
“I can also say that as the leader of the VALORANT team, I’ve personally made this a priority for the game and will invest the resources necessary,” Donlon said. “This is a priority for us, not just in the short-term, but for as long as it takes to reassure a player—any player—that as long as they play to win in VALORANT and respect their fellow human beings, they’ll be guaranteed a similar experience in return.”
To start working towards that goal, Donlon said Riot would be publishing a code of conduct soon. The Valorant lead said the action may not sound like much, but it’ll help set “baseline expectations” for building up the community and punishing those who work against that goal.
I’m hopeful we all want the same thing for our VALORANT community… a community of players united by a love of competition and social play, not one plagued by hate and harassment. I hope we’re in this together. (Also, Dave’s got some updates on servers 😄). ❤️ https://t.co/vtaTE8zQDR
— Anna Donlon (@RiotSuperCakes) May 6, 2020
The Rioter also acknowledged that there’s a line in competitive games where players get emotional about wins and losses, and as long as it’s not crossed, players shouldn’t have much to worry about.
“With any competitive game, we expect spirits to get high and things to get tense—we’re not going to ban someone just because they got passionate about winning or losing,” Donlon said. “But I also know that some experiences can go beyond enthusiasm; sometimes they extend into harassment. That’s what we’re not okay with.”
Donlon said Riot would have more to say on in-game player behavior and how it’ll be dealt with soon.
