Overwatch Game Director Responds To Toxic Player Remarks On The Forums

Toxic players will always be a problem, more so for highly competitive games like Overwatch. Blizzard Entertainment’s widely-popular shooter, however, seems to be having more than their fair share of toxicity. Turns out even the devs are feeling harassed on the forums which prompted Game Director Jeff Kaplan to post a rather lengthy letter defending the Overwatch team.

“We have poured our hearts and souls into a game that we believe is special. We've staked our names and our careers on it. We try -- every waking hour -- to show how much love and magic we believe Overwatch can represent.”

Kaplan expresses his and the the Overwatch team’s full commitment to the game. “Since the day we have launched, we've only increased our efforts and dedication,” says the Game Director. “Overwatch is a 24/7, 365 days a year affair for us. Overwatch doesn't stop because it's 5 o'clock on a Friday evening. Overwatch doesn't stop because it's our kids' birthday.”

Kaplan also says that, for many of the devs, posting on the forums is not a core part of their job but they still try to make as many posts as possible to not only communicate with the community but also to let them know that they’re listening. He also admitted that posting on the forums can be extremely intimidating and time consuming. “It's very easy to post the wrong thing and make a ‘promise’ to the community that no one intended to make,” explains Kaplan. “Once we say we're working on something, we're not allowed to ‘take it back’. It's set in stone.”

“Of course the team talks about Mercy. Of course we talk about Ana. But we talk about all of the heroes. If we post, "we're talking about Mercy" immediately there is an expectation that she is going to be radically changed in the next patch when the truth is, we might just leave her how she is for a while. We're not allowed to post that here without our bosses (and I am talking literally here) receiving emails from some of you demanding we be fired. It's not exactly what I would call a safe environment for creative people to openly express their thoughts and feelings.”

Kaplan wraps up the letter by saying that player feedback is an important part of the game. The manner by which the feedback is given, however, is also important. “We always appreciate feedback when it is expressed in an open, direct and constructive way,” says Kaplan. “Player feedback is what has made this game great. We will try to communicate as much as we can. We love being a part of the community and we don't ever want to view ourselves or be viewed as being separate or removed from that.”

Toxicity is a growing problem in Overwatch and the devs are hard at work trying to come up with ways to reduce, if not completely eradicate it. You can check out Jeff Kaplan and the rest of the team’s plans to encourage players to "Play Nice, Play Fair" in the Dev Update video after the break. You can also head over to the Overwatch official forums for more info.