Razer works with World ID as human verification allows gamers to sideline bots

There are approximately 3.3 billion gamers in the world, enjoying video games on their phone, PC, TV, and console, among other platforms.

It’s a major industry with huge sums invested, while the proliferation of online titles such as Fortnite, Call of Duty: Mobile, Genshin Impact and others means players need some form of account or ID to sign in to their game’s account.

Youverse has announced that it is expanding into the gaming and mobility industries. With a background in banking, fintech and hospitality, Youverse is bringing its experience in privacy-first digital identity and biometric authentication to the new markets.

“With the rise of in-game economies, secure identity verification is more critical than ever,” said Pedro Torres, CEO and co-founder of Youverse. “By integrating our privacy-first biometric solutions, gaming platforms can provide a safer and more seamless experience for players worldwide.”

While many markets, and games, allow players to use a username of their choice, usually linked to a social media or email account, some markets demand real-name verification. China has some of the strictest online video game restrictions in the world, for example, with those under 18 required to provide their real name and ID for age verification. In addition, there are restrictions in place for how long children can play every day. Chinese games firm Tencent, the country’s largest games company, trialled a facial recognition technology to identify underage games in 2018.

In South Korea there are also laws that stipulate real-name verification for online gaming, to prevent minors from accessing adult content and online games.

Youverse is also expanding into ride-hailing and car-sharing, the mobility sector, with its identity verification solutions aimed at streamlining user onboarding for mobility apps, and to boost driver and passenger safety with verified identities.

“Our expansion into mobility aligns with the industry’s push for digital transformation,” Pedro said. “By integrating decentralized identity verification, mobility providers can reduce fraud risks, enhance safety, and offer a truly frictionless user experience.”

Razer partners with World ID to combat bots

Razer, best known for its gaming-focused computers and gaming accessories, is teaming up with World, the open protocol dedicated to verifying if humans are humans.

Various AI systems have been trained on video games, with AI from companies such as Tencent, Google DeepMind, and OpenAI, among others, capable of playing games to a high level. Computer-controlled bots are increasingly a concern for online gamers who prefer to compete against their fellow human players. A third-party survey found that 74 percent of players find them annoying while 59 percent have encountered unauthorized, third-party bots regularly in multiplayer games.

The new “Razer ID verified by World ID” is a single sign-on (SSO) proof of human technology, which will help show that a real person is behind every Razer ID account. Razer ID is the company’s unified SSO to log into all Razer services and software within its ecosystem. This includes a game booster, game payment services, a rewards program, and a unified cloud-based hardware configuration tool for full customizations, according to Razer.

Razer is touting “Razer ID verified by World ID” as a benefit to game developers since they will have a tool to ensure real players, rather than bots, fill the digital landscape. The new SSO will see its first deployment in Tokyo Beast, a game set in the future Tokyo.

“Growing a verified community is key to fair play,” said Wei-Pin Choo, Chief Corporate Officer of Razer. “To foster fair competition, developers must be able to build trusted, human-only game experiences that keep AI bots out.”

World, which was co-founded by Open AI’s Sam Altman and Alex Blania, confirms an individual’s uniqueness, while ensuring privacy. The identity of the person is unknown to World ID, only that the person is a unique human.

Games will be able to use their Razer ID to get to World App, where they will create a World ID account to verify as human. For more information, such as where it will be available, you can click on this dedicated Razer and World ID website.

On The News Crypto, a writer sets an argument that gaming is shifting toward decentralized identity management solutions. And that digital wallets will replace traditional gamer tags, as blockchain-based identities allow players to have portability and ownership of in-game items.

Wallets also allow for anonymity, while blockchain records transaction data, and monetization. The full article can be read here.

Animoca Brands partners with Sony blockchain with anime focus

Speaking of blockchain, Animoca Brands has officially formed a strategic partnership with Soneium, the Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain developed by Sony Block Solutions Lab. The focus will be on building Moca Network’s digital identity layer on Soneium, with anime-themed campaigns from San FranTokyo targeting anime fans to the Web3 space.

Animoca’s Moca Network will introduce Anime ID, a decentralized identity system, developed with San FranTokyo.Yat Siu, executive chairman of Animoca Brands, said that they’re building a “seamless digital identity system” across anime, gaming and blockchain. Jun Watanabe, chairman of Sony Block Solutions Lab said the collaboration was an “ideal entry point” into blockchain considering anime’s global popularity, according to egamers.io.

Previously, Animoca Brands was selected by OneFootball to deliver decentralized digital IDs, which serve the soccer fan platform’s 200 million people every month.

Article Topics

Animoca Brands  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  face biometrics  |  gaming  |  identity verification  |  proof of personhood  |  World  |  World ID  |  Youverse