Valorant seeks out long-term solutions against in-game harassment after female dev reveals her first-hand experience

News by Emily Gera Contributor

Published on April 26, 2020

Riot Games has pledged to find "long-term solutions" against in-game sexual harassment.

This comes after League of Legends UX designer Riot Greenily posted a brief clip of her livestream, exposing the harassment she faced while streaming Valorant on Twitch.

“It's like this MOST of the time on solo queue voice comms REGARDLESS of the game I'm playing," writes Greenily, along with a short clip of her encounter with another player in Valorant's solo queue. "I usually don't give in to this like in the video; I'm silent in an attempt to not incite more. Inevitably you get to a point where you have to mute them.”

Today's🍵: It's like this MOST of the time on solo queue voice comms REGARDLESS of the game I'm playing. I usually don't give in to this like in the video; I'm silent in an attempt to not incite more. Inevitably you get to a point where you have to mute them. More perspective: pic.twitter.com/7ruWcI78tL
— Tea 🍵 🌈 (@Evergreenily) April 24, 2020

Please don't be this dude who shouted "OH MY GOD IT'S A GIRL" the moment I talked; who called me his "babe"/ acted like I was his girlfriend throughout the whole game. I had to heal this guy because I'm trying to win the game and that SUCKED.
— Tea 🍵 🌈 (@Evergreenily) April 24, 2020

Valorant's executive producer Anna "SuperCakes" Donlon responded to Greenily's tweets, promising changes to the game that will make it a safer environment for female players.

"Gross, this is creepy as hell. This is why I can't solo. I'm so sorry. We're absolutely looking into long-term solutions for making it safe to play VALORANT - even solo queue!"

Gross, this is creepy as hell. This is why I can't solo. I'm so sorry. We're absolutely looking into long-term solutions for making it safe to play VALORANT - even solo queue!
— Anna Donlon (@RiotSuperCakes) April 24, 2020

This has led to more female developers speaking out against their own experiences of harassment while gaming. Valorant's insight & strategy analyst Riot Aeneia described her encounter with a gamer, and how simply muting them can be "strategic sabotage" for their team.

Riot Games first revealed the multiplayer shooter in March. In Valorant, each character has access to unique abilities, alongside traditional weapons that you buy in the same vein as Counter-Strike. Since the launch of its beta in early April, it appears that many Overwatch players and streamers have left the Blizzard title for Valorant.

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