OVERWATCH 2 is struggling to moderate its custom modes where fans have been creating sexual and offensive content.
Custom modes have long been a part of the free-to-play game, and the majority of people use them to create maps and games to play with friends.
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While the majority of fans use this creator for its intended purpose, players have complained that explicit content is not being removed quickly enough.
The fan-made mode at the centre of the debate is called “Sexual Assault Simulator” which was created in Overwatch 2’s custom game mode.
In the mode, players take control of male character Cassidy, who ‘flashes’ the female characters, a reference to his Flashbang Grenade ability.
The mode then tells the player to sexually assault the other character, where the screen then changes to the loading screen.
After the loading screen, the female character is then marked as ‘pregnant’, and a Torbjorn robot spawns to represent the baby.
Blizzard has removed the public listing for the game, but if you know the room code, you will still be able to access it.
Cassidy was likely chosen to play the male character in the custom mode, due to real-life events that happened at the studio.
Formerly named McCree after one of the developers, the character’s name was changed after the person was accused of causing a toxic and sexually demeaning workplace culture.
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Several lawsuits have been levied against the company regarding the alleged toxic culture, including the allegation that employees made a shrine to Bill Cosby.
In a response to PCGamer, Blizzard spoke about the removal of the in-game mode, and the steps needed to improve moderation.
It reads: “We immediately removed the user-created game mode once made aware of its existence.
“We are continually working to improve automatic filters to prevent inappropriate user-created content.
“And manually removing any that are not caught by the system.”
Despite recent outrage as the in-game mode went viral, long-time players claim the custom mode has been in the game since the original Overwatch.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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