Overwatch 2 voice-recording controversy explained

Overwatch 2 landed itself in controversy prior to its launch, which pertains to the voice chat system in the title. As per recent developments, Blizzard will be keeping tabs on all the voice chat that is conducted in the game.

Overwatch 2 is the successor to the popular hero-shooter title Overwatch, which was launched back in 2016. The upcoming title is a 5v5 first-person shooter where players will be split into teams of two and will pick "Heroes" with distinctive abilities to play together and achieve the match's objectives.

The news of the developers keeping record of players' conversations has stirred controversy and has left fans wondering why. This article takes a closer look at why Blizzard will be keeping logs.

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Everything about Overwatch 2 recording in-game voice chat

The game will be recording conversations to identify any anti-social or derogatory remarks made during the match against other players. However, Blizzard has assured that the entire process will be automated and will use software to convert the audio to text. But in special cases, there might be human interference in the process as well.

After a player reports someone for abuse, toxicity or any such instance of disrespect, a short clip of their voice chat will be automatically sent to the developers. There, the voice will be converted into text. Once the process is complete, the audio file will be removed from their servers.

The machine-learning algorithm will then go through the text file to identify the use of any wrong words or language and would lead to punishment of the player who used such terms.

Post this, the text file too be deleted from their servers after 30 days. This algorithm can also differentiate between derogatory language against other players or just screaming out of excitement in the game.

Being an automated process, it will ensure that there will be fewer cases of false bans as chances of human error will be marginally low.

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Mandatory linking of phone number

It has also been made compulsory for Overwatch 2 players to link their unique phone numbers with the game's account. According to Blizzard, this will ensure safety by making users more accountable for their actions.

Online games have problems with cheater. Going forward with the SMS Protect security feature, the developers are hoping that this will be an extra added layer that will prevent players from using cheats.

Also, if they lose access to their account, having the phone number connected will ensure a quick recovery.

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How to prevent Overwatch 2 from recording your voice chat?

As of right now, there's no way for players to turn this system off. However, they can skip using the in-game voice chat and use third-party applications such as Discord or TeamSpeak to communicate with friends if they are concerned about privacy.

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The highly anticipated game releases on October 4, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.