of awareness appears to persist. In a separate study, we found that 57% of parents are deeply concerned about harmful material on social platforms like TikTok or Instagram — yet only 39% express the same level of fear about online gaming. Social media is certainly more of a wild west when it comes to


content and moderation, but that doesn’t mean we should turn a blind eye to games. A little over 60% of parents are at least concerned about adults with harmful intentions through games. Again, there is no need for a moral panic – but awareness around the potential impacts of a minority is key.


A RAPID EVOLUTION Let’s be clear — video games are not inherently dangerous, and parents and guardians should not take the blame here. Many are struggling with understanding a rapidly evolving medium that their children are considerably more familiar with than themselves. Even as a parent who works in games myself, it can be hard to keep up. Many more may have little-to-no game literacy at all. Which returns us to the fact that the onus here is primarily on the game industry. Child and general user protection must clearly keep evolving to meet


the needs of a changing audience. It might be tempting, then, to state that it is time to introduce a reliable user identification system based on real-world documents like passports. A ‘game passport’ that detailed precise personal information sounds like a great way to both limit users to age-suitable content, and hold players accountable to their actions within live games. And yet privacy remains deeply important — especially when it comes to keeping children’s identities anonymous. Additionally, a great many users have expressed concern about having their behaviour tracked and their personal data stored. That is an understandable reflection of an era where consumers generally are more savvy and cautious when it comes to privacy. So what can the game industry do? New regulation means many studios and publishers are legally required to do more. Other measures


are also in place to make sure games remain safe. Together these include: • Annual reviews of risk management activities • Written statements of responsibilities •Internal monitoring • Having a thoroughly developed code of conduct in place • Training for staff on child safety • Use of highly effective age assurance services Those kinds of considerations should absolutely be in place —


whether regulatory obligations are present in your region or not. But to really protect children, more will need to be done. Because youngsters have a long history of circumventing technological barriers. While new legislation is welcome, publishers and developers need to take the reins and introduce reliable safeguards. As such, we are seeing much movement around systems like


anonymised, game-agnostic ID systems. Offering players an optional digital identity that can be taken from title-to-tile — without any data being stored with the ID providers — provides a means to deter cheats and other bad actors, making games better for players. These solutions also restrict players to age appropriate content, working to ensure children can game safely. No single solution, however, can address every challenge in this


space. Together, though, established and emerging solutions provide an increasingly broad, complimentary suite of protections that are meeting the gaming medium’s broadening complexity. Age ratings and educating parents and guardians remains critically important. Regulation and voluntary measures around content, team awareness, and process empower game companies to be morally responsible and ensure continued business growth. And new approaches to digital IDs offer a means to deliver accountability and deter bad actors while separating mature content and young minds. A new era is here, where we have more awareness and an


improved arsenal in terms of the fight to protect customers of all ages … and nobody can argue that that isn’t worth doing.


Ascend the End © Wasiona Studio, promotional imagery by Milan Zeremski


October/November 2025 MCV/DEVELOP | 23


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