VALORANT Voice Evaluation Update

Following the expansion of the voice evaluation system to other regions, we’ll be releasing the English-only beta to EMEA and BR.

The following guidelines are set in place so we can perform proper investigations. The length of time a recording is kept may vary by region depending on local regulations and compliance requirements.

• All voice recordings are retained for 24 hours. If no report is received during that time, the recording will be deleted.
• If a report is received during that time:
  • We will retain the recording for 24 hours. [EMEA only]
  • We will retain the recording for 7 days. [All other regions]
• If a penalty is applied from a report:
  • The recording will be retained for 24 hours. [EMEA only]
  • The recording will be retained for up to 7 years. [BR only]
  • The recording will be retained based on the length of the penalty for up to 2 years. [All other regions]

Since we first shared the English-only beta launch of the voice evaluation system in North America, we’ve been closely monitoring the progress of our language models to prepare to expand these tools. We launched the beta for English in NA in February 2023 and now we’re at a place where we’re confident about the results we’ve been seeing. Because of that, we’ll soon be launching the English beta in APAC and LATAM, and eventually to other regions.

What does this mean for you? Depending on your region, you may receive a notice in-client allowing you to opt-out if you do not wish to be recorded by these services. Opting into the recording services will allow you to continue using voice chat. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation as this is part of our larger effort to combat disruptive behavior in-game. This system is one of many pieces we are implementing to improve the player experience.

Since this program is still in beta, you may not see a noticeable impact in your current games as our language model continues to learn and grow. We’re aiming to fully launch English evaluation globally by the end of the year and eventually add support for other languages, so we’ll keep you updated on our progress as we scale up.

As part of a larger effort to combat disruptive behavior, Riot Games recently updated its Privacy Notice and Terms of Service to allow us to record and evaluate in-game voice communications when a report for that type of behavior is submitted—with the goal of kicking this off in VALORANT first.

Earlier this year, we also mentioned that as a part of our current game systems that combat disruptive behavior, voice evaluation would provide a way to collect clear evidence that could verify any violations of behavioral policies before we can take any action. This would also help us share back to players why a particular action resulted in a penalty.

On July 13 we will begin a background launch of the voice evaluation system in North America/English-only to help train our language models and get the tech in a good enough place for a beta launch later this year.

Voice evaluation during this period will not be used for disruptive behavior reports. That will only begin with the future beta. And we know that before we can even think of expanding this tool, we’ll have to be confident it’s effective, and if mistakes happen, we have systems in place to make sure we can correct any false positives (or negatives for that matter).

This is brand new tech and there will for sure be growing pains. But the promise of a safer and more inclusive environment for everyone who chooses to play is worth it.