Gaming is a growing industry as it provided 159.3 billion dollars in 2020. In general, video games are based on the interaction between humans and computers, which means potentially a good amount of data can be collected from gamers and later utilized for different purposes. Users’ Data is not only used by gaming companies but also by middleware for advertisement or financial goals.
Gaming companies benefit from the data collected from users to diagnose the bugs in their products. The player’s behavior and success or failure in the game give valuable information to developers to enhance the gaming experience. For example, through data, they identify which parts of the game are too confusing or difficult to play so that they can modify the game design.
The data collected from users’ behavior in the game is also used to improve the game’s artificial intelligence. For instance, chess gaming companies have gradually enhanced their AI by benefiting from real players’ input, and they can now defeat the best chess players in the world.
In addition to enhancing the game design, gaming companies use the data to identify game cheating patterns. For example, activation uses data to detect players trying to boost their online score and ranking through unfair methods.
Apart from the gaming companies, the data collected from gamers have been used for research purposes. For example, research has suggested a correlation between the player’s activities in the game and their personality. For instance, the ones who fell more into the game atmosphere had less conscientious personalities.
Moreover, players’ data is a valuable source for the advertising industry. Like the data about people’s behavior on social media, gaming companies can provide advertisers with data on players’ interactions so the companies can show targeted ads to players at the right time and place.
However, collecting players’ data has raised some debate about users’ privacy and information security. Gamers share much personal information on gaming platforms, such as name, ID, age, and even financial information. The companies have been criticized for not removing the users’ data after they leave the venue and removing their accounts. The risk is not limited to data privacy in which the personal information is collected and sold to other companies. With thriving online gaming and in-app purchases, attackers may hack the systems to steal real money from gamers.
Overall, the gaming industry is still growing, and there should be regulations to mandate that companies improve their data collection and security policies. So far the European Union in 2018 published regulation for data management in which the gaming companies have to comply with if they want to work in Europe.
Sources:
Bamboo. (2021). Online Gaming Industry Needs More “Privacy by Design”. Retrieved from bamboodataconsulting: https://www.bamboodataconsulting.com/blog/esports-privacy-by-design-gaming
EGLISTON, B. (2022). The Unnerving Rise of Video Games that Spy on You. Retrieved from Wired: https://www.wired.com/story/video-games-data-privacy-artificial-intelligence/
SINGH, A. (2022). If Data Privacy Is Overlooked, It’ll Be a ‘Game-Over. Retrieved from cpomagazine: https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-privacy/if-data-privacy-is-overlooked-itll-be-a-game-over/
