EA acknowledges concerns over Battlefield V chat censorship, claiming it’s a “work-in-progress”

EA gave players a taste of the Battlefield V beta over the weekend, shining a light on what is to come ahead of its late November launch. The publisher has since opened up about one of the game’s more confusing elements, explaining why the its controversial chat filter is unnecessarily censoring words that aren’t profanity.

Exclusive to the PC version, DICE introduced a chat filter for Battlefield V’s beta in an attempt to quell toxicity usually found within the competitive environment. While this was aimed to exclude profanity, players soon noticed that the filter would be a little too sensitive, including phrases like “DLC,” “Lag” and “Titanfall” no matter how the words were stylised.

Perhaps the most controversial of the lot is the inability to say “white man” in the chat, while phrases “black man” and “Asian man” continued to be allowed – not that I can see a reason to use any within the context of the game itself. Regardless, this sparked concern that EA was being unreasonable with its censorship, with many flocking to the Battlefield subreddit to air their woes.

Fortunately, the publisher has taken notice with EA community manager Jeff Braddock issuing a response to fans affected by the strict censorship. “One of the new features we’re working on is a profanity filter in-game to reduce toxicity. That being said, we have heard some complaints that the filter is blocking words that aren’t profanity or shouldn’t be blocked, like “DLC”, etc. and isn't blocking some words that should be (obviously, I will not be providing examples of these.)

“Please note: This is a work-in-progress and we will be taking this feedback to tweak the sensitivity of the filter and improve its usage without censoring relevant conversation,” Braddock continued. “Healthy discussion is what drives improvement in our games, and we’d never want to impede that. Thanks for bringing your concerns to us regarding the current iteration of the profanity filter and we’ll keep working on it.”

There’s not long left on the Battlefield V open beta, ending tomorrow on September 11.

KitGuru Says: While this isn’t the most preferable solution, it’s still kinder than Ubisoft’s zero-tolerance policy within Rainbow Six: Siege, which instantly kicks and bans players for stepping out of line. How do you feel about EA censoring chat in an attempt to quell toxicity?

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