Epic Games today released a statement announcing the introduction of Cabined Accounts for younger players. In the statement, Epic noted that with the rise in the “future open metaverse” many companies have had to tackle the conundrum of what do to with younger audiences who wish to participate. Continuing in the statement Epic outlined that previous outcomes for companies have consisted of restricted experiences for younger players that ultimately fail due to the lack of content compared to the full game. This in turn led to more people falsifying their age to access a more adult version of the full game. Alongside this, Epic also pointed out another option for companies was to create an experience where younger players had to receive permission from a parent and/or guardian to access online play. “Neither of these are optimal” according to Epic Games.
With these points being made Epic announced that they would be introducing a new account system known as Cabined Accounts. Epic said that this move was to help create “a rich experience within the same overall game or product” and that doing so would be “the best way to empower younger players to meaningfully participate without compromising on safety or privacy.”
So, what does this mean? All players will now have to enter their date of birth at log-in. In the case that a player indicates that they are under the age of 13 or their country’s age of digital consent, whichever is higher, they will be provided with a Cabined Account and have to provide a parent’s email address to begin the parental consent process. While this is ongoing younger players will still have access to play the game of their choice but certain features such as chat and purchasing will be disabled.
Upon receiving the email parents will have the opportunity to read Epic’s privacy practices, provide parental consent for features, and set up Parental Controls. Alongside this, they’ll also be asked to verify their age using SuperAwesome’s Kid Web Services.
This is certainly an interesting approach to take but could still be open to exploration by younger audiences. Anyone who played games like Club Penguin when they were younger already knows the tricks of the trade but maybe this will be different. We’ll have to wait and see.
These new accounts will begin rollout to Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys today.
Source: Epic Games Blog Post
