MTG Arena Introduces Feature to Report Unsportsmanlike Players
Magic: The Gathering Arena has become the go-to platform for playing Magic: The Gathering online. Since its beta launch in 2017, it has significantly enhanced the digital experience of the game, attracting players from around the globe. With the latest update, players will now have the ability to report others for various infractions.
On August 17, it was revealed that MTG Arena has implemented an in-game player reporting system. This feature allows users to report fellow players for issues such as inactivity, hate speech, inappropriate usernames, verbal abuse, and spamming. The reporting option can be found in the options menu, challenge lobby, and friends list. Once a report is submitted, it will be reviewed by GGWP, a moderation service utilized across the gaming industry, in partnership with Wizards of the Coast. While GGWP promotes itself as offering “AI-powered moderation for games,” the Arena team clarified that “No reports will be actioned on automatically. Every one will be evaluated and actioned on by a person.”
At present, MTG Arena’s social features are somewhat limited. Chat is restricted to friends, and player interactions are minimal. The most common form of toxic behavior is known as “roping,” where a player, realizing they are about to lose, allows the timer to run out instead of conceding or passing their turn, wasting their opponent’s time. This issue has been a long-standing complaint, and previously, players had no effective means to report it other than submitting a request to Wizards of the Coast’s support site, which rarely resulted in action.
The announcement from the MTG Arena team also indicated that the platform’s social features will continue to grow, suggesting that players may soon have more ways to engage with one another. The reporting feature will be in a trial phase, with the team gathering feedback to ensure it is not misused.
In the coming years, new digital iterations of Magic: The Gathering are set to be released.
