By 2025 we will enter a new era of security through the design of our digital playgrounds.
Online games are spaces where billions of people around the world come together to play, socialize, and relax. However, they are also places where harassment, hate speech, and the preparation of violence and sexual exploration often occur. Today, most online gamers report being targeted or witnessing one or more of these acts. A 2024 report found that 82 percent of players reported being a direct victim, and 88 percent reported witnessing some type of behavior called “toxicity”. Sexual harassment and hate speech are common, with more than 70 percent of gamers claiming to have experienced these acts while playing.
In extreme cases, players face violations of their privacy and right to life, for example, when their personal information is maliciously shared online for the purpose of intimidation—called doxxing. In early 2024, for example, an organized hate campaign began against the small narrative studio Sweet Baby Inc. It is believed to be furthering the “awakened agenda” in gaming and consulting, whose employees have received numerous rape and death threats.
There are many reasons why sports are associated with hate and racism. The most important factor, however, is the lack of innovation across the industry. For example, video games are often sidelined in regulatory discussions about online safety. Proprietary data is concerningand (understandably) no company wants to be the first to speak publicly about cyber harm and security challenges. Games are also, at the end of the day, businesses. Talking about a person’s shortcomings is unlikely to be something that gets the support of shareholders.
However, by 2025, we will finally begin to see industry-wide efforts to prioritize safety. Some of these changes will be due to government mandates. Although video games have long been excluded from regulatory discussions, they are being seen in some of the new initiatives that have recently been implemented. For example, the Digital Services Act in the European Union requires game companies operating there to submit transparent reports to the public about online harm within their spaces and the effectiveness of their tools to combat it. For the first time, this will allow an industry-wide understanding of its strategies and operations across the entire gaming ecosystem.
By 2025, we will again begin to see the results of the gaming industry’s efforts to self-regulate. Over the past few years, there have been many trust and security initiatives led by the gaming industry itself from an organic, industry-standard approach. For example, in 2024 we saw the release of the Digital Thriving Playbook from the Thriving in Games Group, which provides tutorials and step-by-step guides for game developers on how to create strong communities, and methods of trust and security issues. in games. It also includes guidelines for content moderation and community management techniques, as well as teamwork by design, design trust, and building social behavior in gaming communities.
Last year saw another breakthrough, with a partnership between Epic Games and the International Age Rating Coalition to create globally recognized ratings for all user-generated content created Fortnite. Historically, player-generated content has not been rated, leaving users to make their best guess at age appropriateness from the experience’s name, image, and description. The integration of a user-generated content rating system will allow players (and parents) to make informed decisions about what to play and how to play. In 2025, other game makers will follow suit to support players’ ability to make informed decisions about which (of billions of pieces) of user-generated content is safe and appropriate to engage with.
To be clear, a safe community does not mean that there is no danger. Hate, harassment, and other forms of social harm will always exist in one form or another on the Internet. But by 2025, the video game industry will finally have coherent security strategies to better protect players from public harm. As the largest media industry in the world, the video game industry has long been underwritten by this innovation, as well as prioritizing the safety and health of players. As I see it, 2025 promises to be a revolutionary year that sets a new level of security in digital playgrounds.