Ubisoft teams with mental health charity on player toxicity guidebook

Ubisoft is turning its attention to player toxicity by partnering with mental health charity Safe in Our World. The two companies released a Good Game Playbook explicitly meant to support players inundated with toxic behavior within the developer's multiplayer-focused games such as For Honor and Rainbow Six Siege. 

The playbook is meant to "inform and support," and will be provided to both players reported for inappropriate conduct, and those who reported the offender to begin with. In the case of both parties, the playbook helps "recognize warning signs, cope with anger and negativity, and recognize self-care."

Similar to Microsoft's recent efforts to curb rude behavior in the Xbox community, Ubisoft has been working towards creating safer spaces for its own titles. Siege has a reputation system that rises or falls depending on how players interact with each other in-game, and the developer has launched programs and guides focused on toxicity.

Inside the Good Game Playbook

Within its first pages, the playbook underlines how damaging player behavior can be. As of the ADL's 2021 report on player toxicity, 71 percent of adult players have received abuse from others (including verbal harassment and physical threats), and 83 percent of adults have experienced abuse specifically while playing online. 

For younger players, where in-game safety is often prioritized, 28 percent of players have considered quitting video games altogether due to player toxicity. 10 percent of that young audience have reportedly seen a decline in their school performance. 

"Partnering with Safe In Our World has enabled us to provide our players with an expert's approach and advice on a very complex topic," wrote Ubisoft's player safety director Jeremy Marchadier. "While the challenge of in-game toxicity is multifaceted, we remain steadfast in our belief that with a collaborative and comprehensive strategy, we can usher in meaningful change."

"We're delighted to see more proactive approaches to combatting in-game toxicity from Ubisoft," added Safe in Our World community manager Rosie Taylor. "We hope that this empowers fellow game companies to put in place these types of measures to protect their player bases."

The contents of the Good Game Playbook can be read here.