The video game industry is finally getting serious about player safety

In 2025 we enter a new era of security by design for our digital playgrounds.

Online games are places where billions of people around the world gather to play, socialize and relax. However, they are also environments where harassment, hate speech and grooming for violence and sexual exploration often occur. Today, most online game players report being a direct target or witnessing one or more of these actions. A 2024 report found 82 percent of players report being direct victims, and 88 percent report witnessing some form of behavior called “toxic.” Sexual harassment and hate speech are quite common, with more than 70 percent of game players saying they have seen these behaviors while playing.

In the most extreme cases, players face violations of privacy and their right to life, for example, when their private personal information is shared online maliciously for the purpose of intimidation – so-called doxxing. In early 2024, for example, a organized hate campaign started against the small narrative design studio Sweet Baby Inc. Believed to be pushing a “woke agenda” in games with his consultancy, his employees received numerous threats of violence and death.

There are a number of reasons why games have come to be associated with hatred and discrimination. The most important factor, however, is the lack of innovation throughout the industry. For example, video games i am often marginalized in regulatory conversations about online security. Property data is ownerand (understandably) no company wants to be the first to speak publicly about online harm and security challenges. Games are also, at the end of the day, businesses. Talking about their shortcomings is not likely to be something that gains the support of shareholders.

However, in 2025, we will finally start to see industry-wide efforts that prioritize security. Some of these changes will be due to government mandates. While video games have long been excluded from regulatory conversations, they are due to some of the new initiatives that have been enacted recently. For example, the Digital Services Act in the European Union requires game companies that operate there to present transparency reports to the public about online damage in their areas and the effectiveness of their tools to combat it. For the first time, this will allow an industry-wide view of strategies and their effectiveness in the gaming ecosystem.

In 2025, we will also begin to see the effects of the gambling industry’s attempts at self-regulation. In recent years, there have been many trust and security initiatives led by the gaming industry itself from an ecosystem, industry-level approach. For example, in 2024 we saw the release of the Prosperous digital playbook from the Thriving in Games Group, which provides educational material and step-by-step guides for game developers on how to create more resilient communities, and approaches to trust and security issues in games. It also includes guides on content moderation and community management approaches, as well as teamwork by design, trust by design, and creating prosocial behavior in gaming communities.

Last year also saw another breakthrough, with the collaboration between Epic Games and the International Age Rating Coalition to create internationally recognized ratings for all user-generated content created for Fortnite. Historically, player-created content has not been rated, leaving users to essentially make their best guess about age appropriateness from the experience’s name, image, and description. Integrating a rating system on user-generated content will allow players (and parents) to make more informed decisions about what and how to play. In 2025, other game makers will follow to support players’ ability to make informed choices about which (of the billions of pieces) of user-generated content is safe and appropriate for them to engage with.

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 by 2025, the video game industry will finally have more cohesive security strategies to better protect players from social harm. As the largest media sector in the world, the video game industry is long overdue for this innovation, and for prioritizing the safety and well-being of players. As I see it, 2025 promises to be a transformative year that sets a new standard for security in our digital parks.