Microsoft has integrated an optional age verification system in the UK to comply with the newly implemented Online Safety Act, with the long-term consequence being that some social features on Xbox will be limited in the UK for those that do not verify starting in early 2026.
As outlined on the Xbox Wire news story, from today, “players who indicate their account age as 18 and over, based in the UK, and signing into an Xbox experience with a Microsoft account will begin seeing notifications encouraging them to verify their age.”
“Starting early next year, age verification will be required for these players in the UK to retain full access to social features on Xbox, such as voice or text communication and game invites. Players who don’t verify their age between now and early 2026 can continue to play and enjoy Xbox. However, starting early next year, their use of social features on Xbox will become limited to friends only until they complete the age verification process. Whether a player verifies their age will not affect any previous purchases, entitlements, gameplay history, achievements, or the ability to play and purchase games, however we encourage players to verify their age via this one-time process now to avoid uninterrupted use of social features on Xbox in the future.”
What’s amusing here is that game purchases will not be affected in the slightest. Little Timmy can buy at 18-rated game like Grand Theft Auto 5 without verifying his face – perhaps using gift cards – but won’t be able to chat to other people online. Except he still will be, because social features to friends will still be possible, and there must surely be some kind of facility for under-18s to make friends through chat and invites.
Age verification will be possible using “proof of government-issued ID, age estimation, mobile provider check, and credit card check,” and Microsoft assures that “The information players provide during the age verification process is protected with industry-standard encryption and is not stored or used for any other purpose.”
Microsoft has partnered with Yoti for the facial age estimation, which was not fooled by Norman Reedus’ face as rendered by Death Stranding over the weekend.
The UK Online Safety Act was voted and given royal assent under the previous Tory government in 2023, with the scheduled implementation of July 2025 meaning that it is now coming into effect under the current Labour government. It might be egregious and, for the time being, exceptionally fallible for all the main things it was trying to block, but it’s also potentially a precursor to similar legislation that is being proposed in other countries and regions – the EU and US are both considering similar, we’re just so forward thinking and futuristic in the UK.
Microsoft says that “we’ll continue to evaluate how we can keep players around the world safe and learn from the UK process. We expect to roll out age verification processes to more regions in the future. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to player safety, so these methods may look different across regions and experiences.”
Source: Xbox Wire
