We’ve written more than a few times about the effect of harassment, hate speech, and other toxic behaviors in MMOs and online gaming spaces – a trend that doesn’t appear to be slowing down without moderation or any shared knowledge base for studios. Yet one expert believes that will change in 2025.
According to an article by Dr. Rachel Kowert (via the Internet Archive), a well-known gaming and pop culture psychologist who previously served as research director for Take This and currently heads a production studio that makes content about the science of games and pop culture known as Psychgeist, moderation and online safety will make huge positive strides this year, especially thanks to renewed focus in 2024.
Dr. Kowert cites government mandates such as the EU’s Digital Services Act and groups formed within the industry that seek to aid in self-regulation, including a guide written by the Thriving in Games Group that provides education and action plans to fight toxicity and a collaboration between Epic Games and the International Age Rating Coalition that creates international age ratings for content built in Fortnite.
These examples are leading toward what Dr. Kowert believes are “more cohesive safety strategies […] to better protect players from social harm” and “a new era of safety by design for our digital playgrounds” – steps that she believes are long overdue in gaming. From your lips to the industry’s ears, doctor.
