Call of Duty is going to crack down on in-game racism by removing insulting player names and comments in Modern Warfare and Warzone.
Infinity Ward, the developers of Call of Duty, announced the news on Twitter pledging a commitment to stamping this out and apologising for not doing more about it.
The company said in a statement: “There is no place for racist content in our game. This is an effort we began with launch and we need to do a better job. We’re issuing thousands of daily bans of racist and hate-orientated names. But we know we have to do more – and we are".
While many have embraced the change, others have criticised the game's developers, saying more should have been done sooner when the game was launched in October last year.
The decision comes in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody on Monday, May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
George Floyd's murder has sparked protests in all 50 States in the US, with people across the world standing up in protest to racial inequality and police brutality.
Infinity Ward has also announced more measures to enforce anti-racism by identifying it in-game. This will be made possibly by reporting players who have racist name tags in the game and increase the number of players banned per hour.
Permanent bans could also be issued to players using racist names or terms in their online ID, to stop people from doing it.
Activision has also delayed the launch of Modern Warfare's Season 4 update, in an effort to not distract people from that wider conversation unfurling around racism, saying that “now is not the time” for new updates.
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“Right now, it’s time for those speaking equality, justice and change to be seen and heard. We stand alongside you,” they added.
