Infinity Ward says Call of Duty will get better at flagging racist usernames

Call of Duty creator Infinity Ward has announced that the company will be issuing more bans for racist usernames, as well as taking more steps to monitor racist content in game in the future.

“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-oriented names,” Infinity Ward said in a tweet.

The company has promised to issue more bans for racist usernames, while also adding more ways for the company to filter racist content and ban players for it — including reporting tools. These promises come in the wake of a Reddit user calling out Infinity Ward through a video showing dozens of accounts using the n-word as their usernames. While racial slurs on their own are not allowed to be set as usernames, players had been using symbols to bypass existing filters.

This oversight is also being highlighted amidst recent protests surrounding the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Recently, other game companies have also come forward with statements, donations to Black Lives Matter causes, and promises to help diversify the gaming industry. To find out how you can help, we have a post with plenty of resources.