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Westminster Games Week - Why Player Safety Matters

Jagex attended this year’s Westminster Games Week, an event that brings together the games industry with parliamentarians across a series of interactive events, touching on the most critical issues of our sector today. The event is run by the industry’s trade body Ukie in partnership with Xbox, and supported by Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Jagex. Each day includes a series of different activities touching the key issues of our sector today: Levelling Up, Fun & Responsible Play, and Skills of the Future.

Included in the schedule were roundtable discussions, and lunchtime showcases in Portcullis House to demonstrate games, charities and responsible play initiatives from across the sector directly to parliamentarians, researchers, and civil servants. Our Senior Director of Player Experience Kelvin Plomer was invited to be a part of a fantastic panel of guests from the industry, that consisted of Microsoft (Xbox), Ubisoft, Internet Matters and Ofcom, and was chaired by Baroness Nicola Morgan.

The panel discussion covered aspects of online safety in the games industry, with industry speakers presenting how games are demonstrating leadership in this space already through a range of initiatives, tools, and engagement with government and law enforcement. Kelvin led the discussion on what steps the industry can take to build an effective relationship with law enforcement agencies, and their role in player safety.

Jagex has always been a strong proponent of player safety in the games industry, and we were privileged to be invited to contribute to these important conversations, and to have Kelvin offer his own thoughts on customer services, player experience, online community safety to the industry at large.

Why online safety is such an important part of our company ethos

One of our core values is to deliver the best experiences and to make sure that online behaviour is monitored closely, and sensibly. As a company with deep roots in the UK gaming space, we have a responsibility to support our player base and ensure they are creating a safe, enjoyable and happy place. We understand that while the vast majority of online activity is engaging, fun and informative, less desirable parts of everyday society unfortunately also emerge.

As with any online forum, games encounter difficulties from time to time, and I am no stranger to how internet trolls, harassment, account hijacking and many other undesirable happenings can impact players. As living games are a microcosm of society, there is a responsibility for companies which develop those games to act responsibly, proactively seeking out these problems in order to tackle them effectively.

You can read more about Jagex’s approach to duty of care in video games here. For more from Westminster Games Week, visit the UKIE website here.