Microsoft reveals new Xbox in-game voice chat reporting system

Microsoft has announced that it will begin rolling out a brand new reporting feature for in-game voice chats on Xbox consoles which allows players to clip inappropriate activity.

The details:

• Xbox players will be able to record 60-second clips of in-game voice chat within any multiplayer title on the Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One starting this week. The report process involves recording the voice activity and then sending it directly to Xbox Support; however, the clips will not be automatically uploaded, and players must submit them manually. This means that if anyone comes across inappropriate activity, they can record it, continue playing, and then upload it within 24 hours before it is deleted.
• In a new blog post, Dave McCarthy, Corporate Vice President of Xbox Player Services, explained that the team chose to focus on in-game communication as it was "often the place where players have the highest opportunity to interact with players outside of their friend network," as many players prefer the more private party chat system to speak with friends. "Reactive voice reporting on Xbox is designed to be quick and easy to use with minimal impact to gameplay," he said of the decision to make the reports more manual. "The feature is designed so players can capture quickly and jump back into their gameplay and finalize the report when their game is over.”
• The feature is currently only available to Xbox Insiders but will be made available to the general public following a testing period. It is also currently only available in English-language markets such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, with Microsoft aiming to support more languages in the future.
• With this addition, Xbox has noted that all forms of communication a player can use directly through Xbox Live, including voice, text, image, and video, have been covered by a reporting system. For some time, the company has been actively pushing for a more inclusive gaming space, and despite the positive changes, nonprofit mental health organization Take This discovered that seven out of ten players still refuse to play certain games due to toxicity issues in their respective communities.

More Microsoft news:

• Microsoft has confirmed another round of layoffs, laying off over 200 employees based in its Washington offices as well as a portion of remote workers. According to reports, the cuts were made as part of an effort to reduce overall expenses, with 10,000 staff being let go earlier this year.
• Following the announcement of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) attempt to halt Microsoft's acquisition of publisher Activision-Blizzard, the Xbox parent has won the court battle against the US-based regulator. The CMA is now open to discussing possible amendments that the company can make to the deal to allow it to pass in the UK after its block in April.