Overwatch new endorsement system pays off big time, figures show
Abusive behavior is no longer a way to go in Overwatch. After the game saw the introduction of a new endorsement system, even toxic players considered switching to 'good sport' so that they could be rewarded.
A new rating system made its way to Overwatch in June. The so-called endorsements could be used to praise other players for their sporting behavior. Those who collected enough endorsements received special rewards – none of which were harmful. Quite the opposite of getting too many reports.
This approach now seems to pay off with the number of abusive players hitting new lows. Jeff Kaplan of Overwatch development team says that the daily number of abusive players has shrunk by almost 30% in the US. More than 25% of American players is also withdrawing from abusive behavior on the game’s chat. In Korea, the rates are 21,6% and 16,4%, respectively. However, since these are Blizzard's in-house statistics, the figures should be taken with a grain of salt (one should keep in mind that there is still no transparency as to how these values were measured).
Bottom line: the Overwatch community sees no point in harassing other players anymore, as remaining ‘good-sport’ is much more rewarding. And Kaplan loves it: "We are quite happy with the community's efforts to make Overwatch a better place. Many thanks to everyone!". In the same breath, he announced further adjustments to refine and improve these community features.
If everything goes according to the plan, the endorsement system will indeed bear impressive fruit.
