Table 1. Themes and subcategories for the 22 platforms.
Thematic Categories Subcategories Player Information
Product listing of user age, reviewer site recommended
user age, age range, platform user size
Developer Information
Developer name, type, product launch date, compatible
platform, business model
Gameplay Information
Game environment, game genre, player type, gameplay
mechanics and modes
Communication and Moderation
Modes of communication, types of moderation, content to
be filtered/moderated, degree of freedom for
communication
Social Interaction
Structures for team formation, event organization,
friendship building, reputation building, and community
participation
Parental Controls
Safety and privacy controls, community rules, and
compliance to policies (e.g., COPPA
1
)
1
COPPA stands for “Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act”.
We used multiple sources (platform websites, Common Sense Media, and ESRB
ratings) to triangulate the recommended player age range (Figure
1
). It is important to note
that age recommendations for players, one of the most important metrics of our analysis,
vary across these three data sources. For example, on its platform website, the popular
game
Habbo Hotel
is designed for players 13 years old and above; however, Common Sense
Media rated it an 18+ game, and it has no ESRB rating. Another example is
Roblox
, which
has no specific age groups for players listed; however, both Common Sense and ESRB rated
it as appropriate for youth aged 10+. Instead of specifying a target player range,
Roblox
highlights its customized parental controls and delegates parents to “limit or disable online
chat capabilities and restrict access to a curated list of age-appropriate games” [
63
]. We
utilized the lowest age ratings from three data sources for the platforms that did not have
consensus in age specification.
