Unity buys AI-driven audio analysis platform OTO to fight toxic behavior in multiplayer games

According to Unity’s latest survey, seven in 10 players have experienced toxic behavior in online games. To make the gaming environment safer, the company decided to acquire OTO, a platform to analyze audio messages in chats to find toxic players.

The financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed.

OTO will be integrated into Vivox, which provides audio and text communication services for video games. Unity wants to use the platform to foster a more positive and engaged community where every player feels welcomed.

Unity stated that OTO’s acoustic engine “operates 100x faster than speech recognition” and is not dependent on any language. The platform can analyze the emotional weight of the words in real-time and decide whether a specific user’s behavior should be reviewed by moderators.

OTO’s technology is based on machine learning and acoustic neural networks. According to the developers, it can detect intonations, tonal patterns, and the expression of human emotions during conversations. It is worth noting that players won’t be banned automatically, the final decision made by human moderators.

Unity also shared the results of its survey conducted by The Harris Poll among 2,076 US players over 18 years old. 68% of respondents said that they have experienced toxic behavior in online games, which includes harassment, hate speech, threats, and doxing.

67% of players noted that another person’s toxic behavior can make them stop playing a multiplayer game. 92% of respondents also agreed that developers should fight such behavior by implementing special solutions.