HomeWinBuzzer NewsMicrosoft to Revamp Xbox Live Reputation System after Overwatch Outcry

Microsoft to Revamp Xbox Live Reputation System after Overwatch Outcry

Xbox Live's reputation system will no longer punish players by limiting participation in games. Instead, offenders will simply be unable to communicate with others.

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's Mike Ybarra has confirmed big changes to the Xbox Live reputation system. Currently, players' rating goes down with each report, and if it falls far enough they are unable to join games. As you can imagine, this system is open to abuse, and Ybarra is taking drastic action.

“Later this month we're going to make a change to help here. Based on feedback from a number of people across a few competitive games, such as Overwatch, we're going to change how reports of players impact the ability for people to play multiplayer in games,” he said in a Blizzard forum post. “In short, we'll change it so that it will have no impact on a player's ability to join and play multiplayer. It could still impact a reported players (this takes many reports over time, not just a few) ability to communicate with non-friends in multiplayer games, but it won't prevent them from playing.”

No Effect on Manual Bans

To some, this may look like is taking a more relaxed approach to cheaters and trolls. However, a spokesperson has confirmed to The Verge that Microsoft will still ban in some instances.

The main change, then, is that players won't be punished by default. Otherwise, good players can be inconvenienced just for having great reflexes. Overwatch players have been complaining about this for over a year, so hopefully they'll be pleased with the results.

This change on Xbox's part coincides with a promise from Blizzard. Overwatch's Jeff Kaplan confirmed last week that the game will be bringing its own reporting system to consoles. The feature is currently available via its Public Test Region and will be generally available soon.

SourceMicrosoft
Ryan Maskell
Ryan Maskellhttps://ryanmaskell.co.uk
Ryan has had a passion for gaming and technology since early childhood. Fusing the skills from his Creative Writing and Publishing degree with profound technical knowledge, he enjoys covering news about Microsoft. As an avid writer, he is also working on his debut novel.

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