Game developers in the UK are entering a new legal environment that’s already reshaping how titles are planned, built, and released.
Two laws in particular, the Online Safety Act 2025 and the Product Regulation and Metrology Act, are introducing more responsibility for studios when it comes to user safety and product compliance.
While both laws aim to protect consumers, they’re having noticeable effects on how games are being developed.
Online features, user-generated content, in-game communication, and even physical merchandise now come with added legal requirements.
For many studios, these changes are not just administrative; they’re altering the very structure of how modern games are made.
Delays, Cut Features, and Higher Compliance Standards
The Online Safety Act brings legal duties to any platform or product that allows users to interact.
That includes messaging, voice chat, shared content, forums, matchmaking, and anything that facilitates peer-to-peer communication.
Under the Act, companies must carry out risk assessments, introduce measures to reduce harm, and demonstrate that their games meet UK safety standards before releasing them.
This has already led to delayed launches and stripped-back features.
Developers are now being far more cautious about how and when they introduce multiplayer tools.
Some games launch without voice or chat functionality, with plans to add them later, only once moderation systems are in place.
Others avoid user-generated content altogether to sidestep moderation costs.
Games with strong community elements are most affected.
Shared spaces, real-time communication, open matchmaking, and sandbox environments all require closer monitoring.
Developers can no longer rely on automated filters or basic reporting systems.
It’s not just game developers who are adapting.
Many non Gamstop casinos reviewed by experts are also drawing attention for their use of modern platforms, creative features, and accessible services.
These advancements underline how rapidly online entertainment is diversifying and expanding.
What the Product Regulation and Metrology Act Adds
While the Online Safety Act focuses on digital safety, the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 gives the UK government more control over the physical side of things.
The law doesn’t immediately impose new rules but sets up the legal framework for more detailed product safety requirements in the future.
This is particularly relevant to developers and publishers who produce physical merchandise, such as collector’s editions, accessories, wearables, or devices that connect to their games.
Anything sold to the public, especially if it includes electronic components, could soon be subject to stricter rules around safety, packaging, and performance.
The law also targets online marketplaces.
Platforms that host third-party sellers may soon be held responsible for ensuring that the products listed on their sites are safe, correctly labelled, and comply with UK standards.
For game studios that sell through platforms like Amazon, Etsy, or their own e-commerce sites, this could mean more paperwork, certification, and product tracking than before.
Studios that use AI, offer VR headsets, motion controllers, or toys with Bluetooth or internet connectivity will need to pay particular attention.
These items may soon need testing, documentation, and specific warnings before being shipped to customers.
Failure to meet these expectations could result in removal from marketplaces or potential legal action.
Smaller Studios Hit Hardest
Larger publishers are generally in a stronger position to absorb these changes.
They have the staff, tools, and budget to meet legal standards, even if it slows down development or increases costs.
But for smaller teams, especially solo developers or those working on tight budgets, these rules can create significant barriers.
A studio working on an experimental multiplayer title might now face several extra months of work just to bring its chat systems, user account tools, and safety policies into line.
In some cases, the cost of compliance may outweigh the expected revenue.
This leads to difficult decisions: delay the game, change the feature set, or scrap online components entirely.
It also changes how publishers and investors view projects.
A game that was once promising due to its ambitious community-driven features might now be seen as too risky or expensive to bring to market.
Developers are increasingly encouraged to consider the legal side of game design as early as the concept stage.
Looking Ahead
These legal changes are already affecting what kinds of games are getting made.
Studios are moving cautiously when it comes to anything involving real-time interaction, open communities, or third-party content.
While this may reduce the chance of harmful experiences, it also limits creativity and experimentation, especially in genres that rely on social play or user-created worlds.
It’s not all negative.
Some studios are responding by designing smarter systems that still allow community features but in safer, more manageable ways.
Others are creating their own moderation tools or partnering with third-party services that specialise in user safety and content control.
This could lead to better, more reliable online experiences in the long run.
The legal environment around games is changing quickly.
Developers now need to understand regulation as much as they understand their own engine or platform.
What used to be a side concern, compliance, safety, and moderation, is now central to how a game gets made and whether it can succeed in the market.
Hope you’ve found our article, How the UK Online Safety Act 2025 Is Changing Game Development useful.
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