As a matter of fact, sometimes it seems that online gaming runs on racism, something that the pro-diversity gaming community Melanin Gamers is all too aware of. They have banded together to start The Watch, a community-driven platform whose goal is the end of racism in gaming. They are starting with Activision and its mega-popular Call of Duty franchise. The group is calling on the developer to improve the “reporting mechanism for the racist and toxic behavior.” As such, they have compiled a video of actual in-game Call of Duty footage. Be aware, the language is course, demeaning, and, well, racist as heck. The group hopes that Activision will consent to a meeting with Melanin Gamers to discuss solutions for real change, including more in-game punishments for abusers. “The goal of The Watch is to raise awareness about the racism that occurs in online multiplayer games and call on our allies to help make meaningful change for generations of gamers to come,” said Annabel Ashalley-Anthony, Founder of Melanin Gamers. The group is also teaming up with popular game streamers to highlight the issue. They are asking average Twitch users to use the platform’s built-in clip function to capture video and audio of racist language heard in the background of multiplayer matches. Anyone with such videos can send them to The Watch on Twitter, where they will be compiled and eventually sent to game developers like Activision. And they don’t plan to stop with racism. The group also plans to address “sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, and more.”
