Toxic gaming tackled by Ubisoft’s unique police alert system

As reported by BBC News, Ubisoft, makers of major franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Rainbow Six, has now signed a first-of-its-kind deal with police to try and tackle the issue of online abuse for its players. The hope is that this agreement will start a conversation within the industry and see others follow suit.

During the pandemic online games were a saviour for many people’s mental health; however, its dark side is also plain to see. Abusive behaviour, death threats and grooming - can all be found in online gaming spaces.

“We want to be on the right side of history,” says Damien Glorieux a senior director of the Newcastlebased Ubisoft Customer Relationship Centre. It’s here, and at four other locations around the world, that staff monitor how players of Ubisoft games are getting on - responding to requests for help and actively getting involved with the communities that have evolved around their titles. They deal with everything from purchasing issues to online toxicity.

Other companies have similar set-ups, but what’s unique here is the involvement of local law enforcement. The deal between the company and Northumbria Police has two elements. Firstly, specialist officers share their knowledge and expertise on harmful online interactions with the 200-strong team working at the centre in Newcastle, who then apply that training to their daily work. Secondly, an agreement is in place so that, in extreme cases where there is a threat to life or potential serious harm spotted, staff can fast track the information to police. They will then decide whether or not to act.

“We have millions of players, and tens of millions of interactions - so how can we spot incidents?” Damien Glorieux told BBC News. “It is daunting but, at the same time, it is very important, which is why we wanted to sign this deal and try to make things right. We wanted to focus on the most extreme cases - make sure we do the right thing there because it gives us a solid foundation to build the rest of our work around.”

Fewer than 0.01% of cases dealt with by the centre end up requiring police intervention - roughly a handful of cases a month; most of the time accounts will be temporarily banned or permanently closed if players have breached a code of conduct. Staff in Newcastle may also recommend that the company starts legal proceedings in some instances.