PlaySafe ID report: 73 percent of gamers open to ID verification

Like any hobby, gamers just want to have a good time, and it’s one of the most popular entertainment activities, with close to three billion people playing online video games.

However, there is an epidemic of cheating occurring causing headaches for the industry and spoiling the experience for players. Now, an independent study commissioned by PlaySafe ID examines the impact and potential solutions.

In “Gaming’s Cheating Crisis Report: The Impact on Players and Profit,” the real-world impact is explored, on gamers and revenue, along with how to rebuild trust and accountability. Conducted by Atomik Research, the whitepaper is built on a survey of more than 2,000 PC gamers in the UK and U.S.

Key findings are dramatic: 80 percent of players encounter cheating in online games, while 42 percent have considered quitting a game entirely because of cheaters. It also has a direct impact on the economic health of the industry with 55 percent of gamers either reducing or stopping spending on in-game purchases due to cheating.

But a surprising number of gamers are willing to verify themselves. The report found 73 percent of players would be receptive to identity verification as a solution to play without cheaters. Meanwhile, 79 percent of gamers agree that penalties for cheating should apply across multiple games, and 83 percent would be more likely to play a game that is credibly promoted as cheat-free.

“Almost all gamers have a gut feeling that cheating has gotten out of hand,” says Andrew Wailes, the founder and CEO of PlaySafe ID in the report’s close. “They are suffering because of cheating, and developers are missing out on massive amounts of revenue because of it.”

This cheating does appear to have an influence on the bottom line. Data from the report shows that those who spend $11-$50 per month are the most impacted, with just over half (52 percent) of players in this group reporting that they are affected by cheating. Higher spending players are the revenue backbone of online games and a third (33 percent) are affected to the point that they stop spending and/or quit playing.

Wailes reports shock around the finding that so many players could quit games or stop spending. “Before we commissioned this independent research, I had a hunch that the numbers were going to be big, but I had no idea that the issue was felt so strongly by so many,” he said. “It was also surprising to see the excitement and willingness of gamers to embrace new measures to keep cheaters out.”

“It’s surprising but great to see that 73 percent of gamers are willing to verify to play without cheaters, that 79 percent think that bans should work across games, and that 83 percent would be more likely to play a game that is promoted as ‘cheater-free’ with credible measures to prove it.”

Wailes, a keen gamer himself, has said in previous comments to Biometric Update that gamers don’t want their behavior tracked or “tied to personal data like passports or photo IDs” since online anonymity is highly valued. PlaySafe ID is supposed to absolutely preserve anonymity while making real accountability possible to keep bad actors, such as cheaters, out.

PlaySafe ID does this by issuing each verified user one anonymised identity linked to all of the games they play. Only one of these IDs is ever issued per player. When a user is caught cheating, or botting or violating child safety rules, they cannot create a new account and return.

“This kind of solution hasn’t existed until now because the problem wasn’t big enough,” Wailes told Biometric Update. PlaySafe ID has also partnered with Entrust so that the user verification process leads to a frictionless user experience and a high standard of privacy, the company said, and to ensure it’s a scalable solution.

“Our identity verification technology provides robust, high-assurance Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, offering gamers a seamless and secure onboarding experience,” Samuel Steg, Head of Compliance for Identity Verification at Entrust, said at the time.

PlaySafe ID says it is in talks to integrate with several “major” gaming platforms with the first partnerships expected later this year. Digital identity and video gaming is a growing trend with companies such as Creds, Youverse, Moca Network and World developing the space. External factors such as increased age assurance and regulation, such as the UK’s Online Safety Act, are major influences.

Article Topics

consumer adoption  |  digital identity  |  gaming  |  ID verification  |  identity verification  |  PlaySafe ID