Game Chat Transcription is not a default feature, so it will need to be enabled by users. The feature works in two ways for gamers. Firstly, it allows players to turn chat speech into text. This allows them to read in-game chats on their screen in real time. Secondly, Game Chat Transcription works in reverse and allows gamers to choose text to speech. This will allow typed text to be spoken aloud to other games in a multiplayer environment. Microsoft says the addition will give players more ways to communicate in multiplayer games. Besides being an accessibility tool, Transcriptions also serves another purpose. We know for a fact that some gamers may want to be in a chat, but cannot listen to it. There are several reasons why that may be the case, such as no available headphones. With Game Chat Transcription, these gamers can still participate in the chat.
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One of the most interesting things about this feature is that gamers will read anything that comes out of another players’ mouth. I am sure most of us know how some gaming sessions can descend, so it will be interesting to see if Game Chat Transcription has some kind of filter for the fruitier language. Another interesting point worth mentioning is compatibility. The feature is a not a default in games, so developers must include support for the features. This could go one of two ways. Dev’s may embrace it as a new social tool or they may ignore it and the feature may at best be used for Microsoft titles or at worst disappear as a gaming footnote. Microsoft says the chat transcriptions will debut on Halo Wars 2 soon.
