Amongst the on-going investigations into Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, the gaming company decided to give the public an inside look into its proceedings. Today, Microsoft released its first-ever Xbox Transparency Report detailing their efforts in committing to online safety and the betterment of the Xbox community.
“We know that Xbox is a special place for all of you. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience the joy of gaming, free from fear and intimidation, and within the boundaries you set…” wrote Dave McCarthy, CVP Xbox Player Services. “…But we also acknowledge that negative activity can and has taken place. We do not condone any conduct or content that goes against our Community Standards. What’s important to us is taking a moment to pause and reflect on where we are in this journey and sharing that with you. We’ll continue to learn, improve and invest so you can have the best experience when you play.”
As stated before the Xbox Transparency Report goes over Xbox’s vision and enforcement of measures to ensure a safe space for players. It is recognized that while their decisions might not always turn out the way they want, they are eager to improve and incorporate feedback for future decisions. The report highlighted some big takeaways, from the Xbox teams’ proactive measures against “inauthentic accounts” and content moderation, the importance of players reporting malicious activity and lastly, the importance of player control; whether it be with preferences in content, customizable settings or parental controls.
For Xbox, maintaining their community is a group effort by both the developers and players through enforcing rules and encouraging proactive and reactive moderation, where players step up to report instances that violate their new terms of service. In the six months covered within the report, it was stated that about 4.33 million enforcements against cheating/inauthentic accounts were made by the Xbox team, and on the player side, 33 million reports were made split between communications and conduct.
Xbox and by extension Microsoft hope to continue with their efforts in maintaining these plans within the report. Considering the investigations around their recent acquisitions as well as the rampant industry-wide misconduct allegations throughout 2022, being upfront about their plans for their community is the only correct choice. Time will tell if Xbox’s efforts will impact positively or negatively on its community.
For more information, read Xbox’s Transparency report here.