Summary
In the time sinceBungiehostedits big gameplay revealofMarathonon Saturday, more and more details have come out about the upcoming PvP extraction shooter. First and foremost,the game will launch on September 23, and in 10 days' time, its Closed Alpha test will take place on April 23.
More importantly,it won’t be a full-priced title, though Bungie has stressed that it will be a “premium” title. Now, Bungie has revealed why the game won’t launch withProximity Chat, a key trademark of games in its genre.
Toxicity Is The Problem, And There Isn’t A “Solution” Just Yet
In an interview with PC Gamer, game director Joe Ziegler explained just why the popular communication feature won’t be making the cut for its next release.
“When it comes to prox chat, I don’t think we’re against the experience of it, to be fair,” he said. “I think the challenge is how to make sure we’re creating a safe environment for players inside of that space.”
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As a feature, proximity chat is somewhat of a double-edged sword. It allows players to experience a more realistic communication method and helps create unforgettable experiences. On the other end, players are at the mercy of hearing what they are in “proximity” to, which can create unsavory situations with toxic communication.
“I don’t think anyone really has a good solution to that just yet,” Ziegler added. “Because we’re so dedicated to making sure that we’re creating a safe space where we don’t have players just flaming each other or doing terrible things to one another, I think we’re not ready to invest in prox chat until we have a solution.”
As it stands, it remains to be seen what the solution could be. Obviously,there’s the option to toggle the feature, andpunishment has been levied against bad actors in the past. But short of some high-tech auto filter that immediately boots bad actors, it seems like should the feature ever make it into the game, it’ll be on players to police themselves and behave accordingly.
“Like, if it was magical, and we could somehow come up with that solution, I think we totally would do it,” Ziegler said. Good luck.
