Agenda

As multiplayer games grow in scale and social complexity, player safety has become a core design challenge, and one that directly impacts retention, engagement, and community trust. In this session, Mark Frumkin, Director of Customer Success at Modulate, presents a comparative look at two live, commercially successful multiplayer games that implemented distinct approaches to moderating player behavior at scale. The talk explores:

A large, globally distributed competitive multiplayer title, where proactive moderation, player reporting, and positive-play systems are used to address harmful voice behavior across millions of players.

A social deduction multiplayer game built around proximity voice chat, where a shift from immediate bans to a tiered escalation system (warnings → mutes → bans) dramatically reduced negative player impact while maintaining moderation effectiveness.

Using real production data and lessons learned, this talk demonstrates how modern moderation strategies can change player behavior without sacrificing playtime or social connection. Attendees will leave with practical guidance for designing escalation pathways, choosing enforcement severity, and measuring success beyond simple ban counts.

Takeaway

Attendees will leave understanding why:
1. Tiered Escalation Pathways Outperform Immediate Punishment
2. Less Disruption Contributes to Strong Engagement
3. Wide Coverage, Transparency, and Community Feedback Matter
4. Moderation Should be Core to Game Design

Intended Audience

This session is designed for:

- Game designers building multiplayer features who want to bake player safety into game systems
- Live service operators and community managers seeking measurable safety strategy insights
- Engineering and data teams tackling real-time moderation and escalation logic
- Player experience leads / UX researchers exploring how feedback systems and player control influence community health