Overwatch Toxicity Reduced By 40 Percent Thanks To Endorsement System

It cannot be denied that Blizzard has been going toe to toe with toxic Overwatch players for a while. While the company's initial efforts did not pan out right away, there does seem to be some big progress now thanks to the introduction of a social feature designed to better the playing environment of the hero-based shooter title: The Endorsement System.

The issue with Overwatch toxicity has been present since day one. Interestingly, Blizzard’s very own research developer, Natasha Miller, shared some news at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. She discussed the studio’s progress at solving the issue.

The Endorsement System in Overwatch was first introduced last year. It allows players to endorse allies or even opponents for sportsmanship, as a shot-caller, and as a good teammate. The endorsement rating a player gets after every match is shown in public, so teammates have an idea of each other before the next match starts.

According to Miller, the reports Blizzard receives from every match have become essential in fighting toxicity. It turns out that, so far, the game has seen at least a 40 percent decline in matches where players tend to experience disruptive behavior. All this progress has taken place since the studio introduced the Endorsement System. Endorsements give the community its very own reward system, one that gives consequences to players with bad behavior and rewards for those with good behavior.

Of course, the 40 percent dip is good start, but there is still plenty of work to be done to eliminate grief in Overwatch. With the success of the Endorsement system, hopefully this inspires other developers to come up with their own systems to battle disruptive behavior.