Riot will force players to change offensive names in VALORANT

Riot has launched a Forced Name Change for in-game Riot IDs in VALORANT. This is a step to make the game “truly welcome for all,” Riot said on Twitter last night.

Names that are offensive and violate VALORANT’s Code of Conduct including hate speech toward race, gender, sexuality, or slurs can be reported and will go through an automated check.

The player whose account was reported will be forced to change their Riot ID the next time they log in to the Riot Client if the account is flagged by the company’s filter for disruptive names.

Many players pointed out that dealing with toxic behavior should be a priority for Riot beyond offensive gamertags, too. Players can report accounts that demonstrat toxic behavior and if that account receives multiple reports, the devs will punish the player with a type ban depending on the severity.

One common punishment is a communications ban, which blocks the player’s voice chat. But many players have complained that it hurts teamplay and a dev has responded that they’re working on improving the punishment system in VALORANT.