Ubisoft is continuing its efforts to create safer spaces in online games with its brand-new Good Game Playbook, a guide created in partnership with Safe In Our World, a mental health charity chaired by mental health experts and gaming veterans focused on promoting positive mental health and educating players and developers alike to support and encourage better mental health practices. The playbook aims to inform and support both those experiencing toxicity online, as well as those perpetrating it, to recognize warning signs, cope with anger and negativity, and practice self-care. The handbook will be provided to any Ubisoft player reporting others for toxicity, as well as players who are reported.
The playbook builds upon Ubisoft's efforts to create safer and more inclusive spaces in their games, having previously launched the Fair Play Program, an interactive guide to the causes of and solutions to negative behavior in online games. Last year, they also teamed up with Riot Games for the Zero Harm in Comms research project, which seeks to study toxic communications to better identify negative behaviors and train automated systems to better catch and handle them. Rainbow Six Siege has also introduced a reputation system, which scores players based on both positive and negative behaviors and provides sanctions or boosts based on their reputation, as well as adding a reputational standing to the player profile to promote positive interactions and give players a chance to consider their behavior.
Ubisoft partnered with Safe In Our World due to their mental health expertise and focus on the video game industry, with the charity's founders being veterans in both spaces. Providing tools and training for developers and players alike, their aim is to create a space where people can seek help and find others with similar experiences, aiding in both prevention of and recovery from mental health crises and other causes of distress based on knowledge gained through their years working in and alongside the industry, as well as a long pedigree of mental health training and personal experience.
"We're delighted to see more proactive approaches to combatting in-game toxicity from Ubisoft," says Rosie Taylor, Safe In Our World Content & Community Manager. "We hope that this empowers fellow game companies to put in place these types of measures to protect their player bases. Safe In Our World exists to create safer spaces in gaming, and this is a brilliant step contributing towards that."
"At Ubisoft, our key objective is to create games that foster positive online experiences," said Jérémy Marchadier, Director of Player Safety at Ubisoft. "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. 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."
If you would like to learn more about the causes of toxicity and how to deal with negative feelings and behavior, take a look at the Good Game Playbook or learn with the interactive Fair Play Program. To keep up to date on other ways Ubisoft is creating safer spaces for its players, stay tuned to the Ubisoft News hub.
