Riot Games executive producer Anna Donlon stirred up a serious conversation recently after she mentioned on Twitter that she wasn’t willing to solo-queue inValorant, the game she works on, due to harassment concerns. Donlon has since written a lengthy post discussing Riot’s views on player behavior and what it’s doing moving towardValorant’s launch.
“This is why I can’t solo,” wrote Donlon on Twitter, replying to aTwitchclip from another Rioter in which aValorantplayer sexually harassed her mid-game. But Donlon isn’t comfortable with that status quo. In her post Donlon says, speaking for not just women but gamers in general, “We’ve learned to but others who are harassing us. We’ve learned to mute ourselves to keep the peace. And as a result, we have a competitive experience that can feel compromised.” Donlon goes on to say Riot owes its community a commitment to do better and then makes that commitment.
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However, Donlon admits immediately that, “This is a very hard space to take on. I can’t solve society, and some of these issues are really, really deeply entrenched.” But Donlon says thatRiotis taking the issue seriously and has also formed a “Central Player Dynamics” team forValorantto address the science and research behind promoting fair teamplay.
What Donlon doesn’t offer are immediate solutions or details regarding punishment for harassment, particularly through voice chat. In fact, recently a Riot support representative forLeague of Legendssaid that Riot is leaving all player punishment up to automation due to limitations from theCOVID-19 pandemic. It’s odd to consider Donlon promising Riot’s taking this seriously while harassment is potentially only being dealt with through automated systems.
Nevertheless, Donlon says as long as she’s the leader of theValorantteam, player behavior is a priority and it will receive all necessary resources. Hopefully, she continues to carry a conversation withValorantplayerson the issue.
Valorantis currently in closed beta and releases this summer on PC.
