Who’s responsible for keeping game spaces safe?
Professional community managers work tirelessly to keep players safe. They moderate toxic behavior, prevent scams, and build safe spaces for MILLIONS of gamers around the world.
But here’s the kicker…
Players will probably never know they’re there. That’s what makes them heroes.
What you’ll learn:
- Why User Protection Communities Are Important
- What Happens When Games Aren’t Safe?
- How Game Moderators Protect Players
- Tools You Need for Game Moderation
- User Protection Leads To Trust
- Here’s What’s At Stake When You Skip User Protection
Why User Protection Communities Are Important
The online gaming industry is booming. Currently, there are over 3 billion active gamers on the planet. That’s almost 40% of the worlds population.
With great players comes great responsibility.
There needs to be a dedicated community ensuring players are safe and enjoy their time spent within the game worlds. Safety and positive community engagement keeps players coming back. Without it, your game will be a cesspool of toxicity that will push players away.
User protection communities are important… obvious, right?
That’s why we’re seeing communities popping up all over the world dedicated to verifying real game spaces. These communities, known in South Korea as 먹튀픽 커뮤니티 (which roughly translates to “scam pick community”) are part verification websites and part community management. These trusted communities work to verify real gaming spaces and expose fraudulent ones. This type of user protection is critical to keeping gamers safe.
In fact, stats from a survey reinforce just how important positive player interactions are. A study by Unity found that 67% of players surveyed said they’d stop playing a multiplayer game if they experienced toxic behavior from another player. That’s millions of potential players who would quit your game because of poor community management.
What Happens When Games Aren’t Safe?
You might be thinking…
Toxic behavior is just stupid kids yelling at each other. Big deal.
Yes. Except it’s not.
Over 70% of players have encountered some sort of toxic player. 50% experience it frequently. And 22% said they experience toxic behavior often.
So what is toxic gaming?
- Players yelling insults
- Threats to player’s safety
- Discrimination / Racism
- Troll parties dedicated to killing your fun
- Scams
Notice a theme?
Imagine how you’d feel playing your favorite game and seeing someone threaten to kill you. Or actively calling you names because of who you are.
Players don’t log into a game to feel angry, upset, and afraid. Yet this is exactly what happens when games allow toxicity to spread.
And the scary part is…
Children are at an even higher risk of being exposed to these dangers. They don’t know what many scams look like. They may not know certain behaviors are unacceptable. Player safety cannot forget about our youth.
How Game Moderators Protect Players
Community moderators play a key role in keeping players safe.
Moderators monitor chat, pinpoint poor behavior, and remove negative content before it impacts other players. Ensuring player safety is just one of their jobs. But a huge one.
Top-notch community moderators:
- Moderate chat and voice channels in real-time
- Filter through player reports
- Find repeat offenders
- Identify scammers and suspicious accounts
- Create robust and clear community guidelines
But did you know…
Real time moderation is only possible through a combination of technology and human intelligence. Software can instantly identify keywords and block offenders. Human moderators review nuanced cases that AI can’t understand.
It’s a fantastic combo. Online harassment has actually decreased by 12.4% because of communities investing in both intelligent software and strong moderators.
Tools You Need for Game Moderation
There are some pretty incredible tools these moderators have access to.
Like I mentioned previously, there are powerful software systems that analyze millions of pieces of player generated content every second. Let’s take a closer look at what these tools can do.
Modding tools should provide:
- Wave Monitoring – Allows you to review chat and voice content
- Behavioral Analysis – Artificial intelligence that recognizes patterns over time
- Automated Alerts – Receive notifications when harmful content is detected
- Robust Reporting – Keep all moderator activity in one place
- Internationalization – Protect communities in multiple languages
So why does this matter?
The gaming industry is massive. Moderators should never be stuck playing catch up. Software can scan entire chat archives while moderators focus on the harmful content that slipped through.
Imagine a player receiving threats from another gamer…
In an unprotected community, this threat may slip through chat unnoticed. The user makes the threat. Goes about their day. Your player reads the threat and decides they don’t want to play anymore.
In a protected community…
Software flags the threatening message instantly. The message is blocked. The user is issued a warning/banned. Your player continues their game never knowing the threat happened.
User Protection Leads To Trust
Trust is not instant.
Players need to know you’ve got their back. They need assurance that actions will be taken to prevent issues from happening in the first place. Once trust is broken, players won’t stay engaged and will leave your community.
How does user protection build trust?
- Increased player retention
- Higher engagement rates
- Better brand recognition
- Improve your players’ willingness to recommend you to others
- Long-term community growth
The gaming industry has caught on. 67% of multiplayer competitive games have invested in voice chat surveillance and AI moderation. Expectations are growing and so are investments into user protection. 81% of online game markets now utilize some form of two-factor authentication.
Investing in your community’s safety shows players that you care about their experience.
Here’s What’s At Stake When You Skip User Protection
Trust your users.
I can’t stress this enough.
Sure, we could throw out a bunch of information that sounds nice. Make a few points on why moderation is “good” for your business.
But that’s not going to drive the point home.
Moderating your player base and ensuring your game is a safe environment is a financial concern.
Yep. It costs money when you don’t have user protection.
- The gaming industry was hit with the second highest rate of suspected fraudulent digital activity at 7.6%
- 10% of ALL GAMING transactions are suspected fraudulent activity
Criminals are looking to make your gamers lives miserable. Why? Because gamers tend to link payment information to their accounts. If a hackers gains access to your gaming account, your information is compromised. On average victims lose $122 due to gaming account hacks.
If your players don’t feel safe interacting with your community. They aren’t spending money. Simple as that.
Wrapping It Up
Community managers are the real MVP’s of gaming.
They eat the toxic poop so no one else has to. They work around the clock identifying threats and scams so your players can have the best possible experience. They ensure players are matched with teammates who will enhance their gameplay, not ruin it.
Let’s recap:
- There are 3 BILLION gamers who’s communities need protection
- Toxic behavior is far more common than you might realize
- Combining AI software and real human moderators is the best form of moderation
- Game moderators allow your players to trust the game and community
- If your gamers don’t feel safe, they won’t pay
When you’re playing your favorite game. Thinking about how nice it is to have a game free of threats. Remember the awesome people working hard to keep your gaming experience safe.
These are the heroes this industry needs more of.
