In 2025, we will enter a new era of safety 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 environments where harassment, hate speech, and preparation for violence and sexual exploration are frequent. Today, most online game players report being directly targeted or witnessing one or more of these actions. A 2024 report was found 82% of players reported being directly victimized, and 88% reported witnessing some form of so-called “toxic” behavior. Sexual harassment and hate speech are quite common, with over 70% of game players saying they have witnessed these behaviors while gaming.
In the most extreme cases, players face violations of their privacy and right to life, such as when their private personal information is maliciously shared online for the purpose of threats—so-called doxxing. For example, in early 2024, one Organized hate campaign started against small narrative design studio Sweet Baby Inc. Supposedly pushing an “agenda” in the games with their consultation, their staff received numerous rape and death threats.
There are several reasons why the game is associated with hate and discrimination. However, the most important factor is the lack of innovation across the industry. For example, video games To be often have to sit out in legal conversations about online safety. Proprietary data is monopolyand (understandably) no company wants to be the first to talk publicly about online harms and safety challenges. After all, gaming is a business. Talking about one's shortcomings may not attract shareholder support.
However, in 2025, we will finally start to see industry-wide efforts to prioritize safety. Some of these changes will be due to government mandates. Although video games have long been left out of regulatory discussions, they still benefit from a number of new initiatives that have been recently enacted. For example, Digital Services Act in the European Union requires gaming companies operating there to submit public transparency reports on online harms in their spaces and the effectiveness of tools to combat them. For the first time, this will enable industry-wide insights into strategies and their effectiveness across the gaming ecosystem.
In 2025, we will also start to see the impact of the gaming industry's self-regulation efforts. Over the past few years, there have been many reliability and safety initiatives initiated by the gaming industry itself from an ecosystem-level, industry-level approach. For example, in 2024 we saw the launch of Digital development handbook from Thrive in Games Group, which provides educational materials and step-by-step guidance for game developers on how to create more resilient communities as well as approaches to issues of trust and safety. all in the game. It also includes guidance on content moderation and community management practices, as well as teamwork by design, trust by design, and building pro-social behavior in gaming communities. play.
Last year also saw another breakthrough, with a partnership between Epic Games and International Age Assessment Consortium to create internationally recognized ratings for all user-generated content Fortress. Historically, player-generated content has not been rated, leaving users to essentially make their best guess at age-appropriateness from names, images, and experience descriptions. Integrating a rating system across user-generated content will allow players (and parents) to make more informed decisions about what content and how they will play. In 2025, other game makers will follow suit to support players' ability to make informed choices about which of the billions of user-generated content is safe and appropriate. suitable for them to interact.
To be clear, a safe community does not mean there is no risk. Hate, harassment, and other forms of social harm will always exist in one form or another online. But in 2025, the video game industry will finally have more cohesive safety strategies to better protect players from social harm. As the world's largest media sector, the video game industry is long overdue for this innovation and prioritizing the safety and health of players. As I see it, 2025 promises to be a transformative year that sets a new standard for safety in our digital playgrounds.