A few months ago, Ubisoft implemented some very strict anti-toxicity measures for Rainbow Six Siege which ended up ticking off a whole bunch of players (mostly those who felt the new system’s wrath for even minor infractions). During a recent interview with PC Gamer, Rainbow Six Siege brand director Alexandre Remy was asked about whether the development team plans on softening its zero tolerance approach now that the new system has had some time to settle, but if anything it seems as if those zero tolerance measures will be stepped up even further.
Currently, Siege players who type racist or homophobic slurs (or any variation that could be considered a slur) into the game’s text chat window will instantly receive a temporary ban. If a player racks up three such infractions against their account they’ll be permanently banned with no opportunity to appeal the decision or plead their case. It’s a heavy-handed system to be sure, but according to Remy Ubisoft plans to make it even more heavy-handed in the near future:
“Today, the system means that any player that uses homophobic or racial slurs in our chat will automatically receive a temporary ban. After three temporary bans you get permanently banned…. That feature will evolve as we develop in the future, we plan to add filtering systems to stop those words even showing up at all in the chat, so it’s going to be a little more flexible.”
Remy did admit that he sees how Siege’s anti-toxicity system could be perceived as overly zealous, but he scoffed at the notion that the system is infringing on players’ freedom of speech rights (as some players claim) and presented a rather compelling counter-argument:
“There’s a saying that goes something along the lines of ‘your freedom ends where mine begins.’ To us, it’s not a question of freedom or equality, it’s a question of respect. Behaving in a respectful way, I believe, is not a requirement that’s beyond humanity. Respect is all we are asking for. I believe that with those measures that we’re putting in place, we are exactly on the right path of making a community, as much as possible, that’s respectful of one another.”
So there you have it. Sure, Rainbow Six Siege’s automated anti-toxicity system may be harsh, but as long as you’re not a jerk to your fellow players, the system’s harsh measures shouldn’t even be an issue for you. Besides, it’s hard to get upset when Rainbow Six Siege continues to receive high-quality content updates such as the recently launched Operation Grim Sky.