UK Online Safety Act Pushes Game Studios to Rethink Social Features

Game developers in the UK are taking a hard look at their in‑game social features following the introduction of the UK Online Safety Act (OSA). The legislation, aimed at protecting users, especially children, from online harms, is already influencing how studios design and release their games.

In a recent episode of The Game Business Show, Isabel Davies, senior associate at London‑based law firm Wiggin, broke down exactly how the OSA is reshaping the industry.

The OSA covers both "illegal harms" (such as terrorism and child sexual abuse material) and "legal but harmful" content (like pornography) that could be damaging to minors. If your game allows user‑to‑user interaction, think chat systems, friend lists, or sharing user‑generated content, you’re in the OSA’s scope. That means you must carry out a risk assessment and follow through with safety measures.

What might surprise smaller studios is that there’s no exemption for size. "The regulatory burden is the same if you’re one of the biggest platforms on the planet, or you’re a tiny studio starting up," Davies explained.

Some platforms, including Steam, Xbox, and Roblox, have already implemented age verification for certain features. But Davies pointed out that not every interactive element needs to be age‑gated. Sometimes, there are alternative ways to protect players, like limiting friend requests to known contacts or disabling unsolicited messages.

The law is already influencing development decisions. Davies said she’s spoken to studios that have delayed or even dropped planned social features to avoid the initial compliance burden. Others are taking a phased approach: launch the core game first, then add community features later once the groundwork is in place.

Still, not every game can sidestep social interaction. For titles built around community play, removing those features isn’t an option. In those cases, Davies encourages teams to focus on documenting existing safety measures and refining player interaction systems. "A lot of folks do a lot of good stuff already," she noted, suggesting that for many, the shift may be more about formalising processes than reinventing them.

While the UK’s OSA is front and centre right now, similar regulations are emerging elsewhere. Australia has its own initiatives, the EU’s Digital Services Act is even stricter, and early signs point to new online safety measures in the US. As Davies put it, "Online safety is not going away anytime soon."

For developers, that means adjusting not only game design but also budgets, compliance strategies, and community management.