Blizzard is currently testing voice chat transcriptions in Overwatch 2 to combat “disruptive behaviour”

Snow storm has started testing audio transcription in surveillance 2 in an effort to combat verbal abuse in the game’s voice chat.

in the most recent patch notes For Overwatch 2, Blizzard confirmed that it has begun rolling out its audio transcription feature as part of its Defense Matrix initiative (thanks, eurogamer). The feature is only available to PC players in select countries at the moment, so if you’re not seeing it, that’s why.

This feature essentially uses voice chat audio transcripts which allows Blizzard to “analyze a transcript of a reported player’s temporary voice chat recording. Players will now see a notification when they first enter voice chat during a game session indicating that voice chat can be recorded”.

The post notes that if you have this feature, be sure to report disruptive behavior as close to the point as possible to maximize its effectiveness. “Once reported, a temporary audio recording will be used to transcribe a text file via speech-to-text programs. No one hears the temporary audio recording, which is quickly deleted after being transcribed. Transcripts only are made for disturbance reports”. Behavior on public voice channels, including team and match chat; “party” group chat is excluded.

Toxicity has long been a problem in Overwatch voice chat, as it is in many online shooters, but Blizzard has never done enough to properly combat it. Obviously, we’ll have to wait and see how effective this feature is, as it requires the moderation team to respond appropriately to every bullying report, but it would be nice if there were real consequences for people who like to make a fool of themselves. in voice chat.

In a separate recent blog post, Blizzard also touched on how it plans to change the battle pass with future seasons, as it admits it’s not entirely happy with how it currently rewards player progression.