If you've ever taken part in online gaming through EA Sports' NHL titles, or any others for that matter, chances are you've been hit with a profanity laced tirade from a fellow gamer angry over something you did. Some comments are more lighthearted in nature, while others are downright nasty, with threats of violence to you and your family. A lot of those comments are also extremely racist in nature, something EA Sports is now saying it will no longer tolerate.

The company has released a statement on its social media accounts that vows to target gamers that take part in racist, xenophobic, homophobic and sexist behaviour.

EA Sports will not tolerate racism of any kind.

We are constantly taking action to maintain a culture of inclusion. Toxic behaviour changes and evolves rapidly and we recognize that we need to do more to actively monitor and remove those individuals who perpetuate racist, xenophobic, homophobic and sexist behaviours in our games.

We are listening to all of you and we'd like to share some of the specific steps we've been taking and the steps we will be taking to bring change to our games and our communities in the fight against racism.

EA says it is reviewing its terms list to ensure its filter set is comprehensive and accounts for various languages, dialects and slang. It promises to review and expand on the list regularly. EA also plans to beef up reporting capabilities to make it easier for players to report toxic behaviour and to review reports faster and in a higher volume.

But we won't stop at these actions because we know we need to do better. We will keep listening and continue to take steps that can make an impact on fighting bias, discrimination and injustice. We are also review policies and steps we can take across our entire portfolio of games and we will share more with you in the coming weeks.