Last week, EA announced that Battlefield 5 would include a profanity filter in the game’s PC version. The filter is currently in place for the game’s Open Beta. However, EA has now clarified that the Battlefield 5 profanity filter is still a work-in-progress. As such, players could see changes before the final launch in November.
The Battlefield 5 Profanity Filter
The first details on the Battlefield 5 profanity filter were given to fans on Twitter by Jaqub Ajmal, one of the game’s producers. Some fans were evidently unhappy about the feature. However, Ajmal made the point that DICE hadn’t wanted to include it either. “[in Battlefield] players are supposed to treat each other with respect in the chat,” explains Ajmal; “It’s actually sad that things like these are needed”.
The filter will only block profanity in the Battlefield 5 PC version’s chat. However, since the start of the Open Beta, some fans have found that the filter doesn’t seem to be working as intended. Specifically, it appears to be blocking certain words or phrases which it shouldn’t be.
Fans have been posting about this newfound issue on the Battlefield 5 subreddit. Bizarrely, the word “DLC” was blocked by the filter. However, in an ironic twist, the words “free DLC” were not. EA has already addressed the issue in a blog post on the official Battlefield forums. “We have heard some complaints that the filter is blocking words that aren’t profanity or shouldn’t be blocked, like “DLC”, etc.,” says the post; “and isn’t blocking some words that should be… This is a work-in-progress and we will be taking this feedback to tweak the sensitivity of the filter and improve its usage without censoring relevant conversation.”
At the end of the day, this is precisely why the Open Beta is taking place; to find problems and improve the game before release. It seems as though the filter isn’t quite right; most likely due to the algorithm which controls it being too aggressive. Now that fans have brought the issue to EA’s attention, it sounds as though they should expect some changes before the final launch.