Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Beta Sees Unexpected Chat Censorship
Players jumping into the ongoing open multiplayer beta for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 noticed a peculiar issue in the in-game chat system. While typically filtering out profanity, the chat also appeared to censor mentions of the upcoming extraction shooter, ARC Raiders, from Embark Studios.
Typing the full title “ARC Raiders” into the chat would result in the phrase being replaced by asterisks. Interestingly, when tested by PC Gamer, the individual words “ARC” and “Raiders” could be typed without any censorship. This led some players to wonder if Activision was intentionally trying to block discussions about a competing title, despite the massive scale of the Call of Duty franchise.
Activision Clarifies the Error
Activision has since provided an explanation for the unexpected censorship. In a comment to Insider Gaming, a representative stated that the filtering was an accidental outcome of how their text filter operates. Apparently, “Arc” is flagged within the system as an alternative form of a profanity. When combined with “Raiders,” the filter erroneously treated the entire phrase as something to be blocked. Activision confirmed that adjustments have been made to address this issue.
Embark Studios, the developer behind ARC Raiders, couldn’t resist a humorous take on the situation, posting on social media, “We still plan to release *** ******* on October 30!” Their community manager also recalled a similar incident where Electronic Arts’ EA App chat had previously censored “ARC Raiders,” transforming it into hashtags, a problem that was also quickly resolved.
Black Ops 7 Beta Extended, New Map Added
In related news for Call of Duty fans, the Black Ops 7 open beta has been extended by an additional day, now running until 7:00 PM MSK on October 9th. Participants can also dive into a new map called Toshin, designed for 6v6 skirmishes. To help players unlock more content, an experience multiplier is active until the end of the beta, allowing everyone to reach level 30 and try out all available weapons and equipment.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is set to launch on November 14th for PC (via Steam, Microsoft Store, and Battle.net), PlayStation, and Xbox consoles, including text localization for Russian players. The game will also be available through Game Pass on release day.
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