A proposed New York law could make age checks a much bigger part of online gaming, especially in games and platforms where players can chat, add friends or make purchases around younger users.
The measure, listed by the New York State Senate as Senate Bill S4609A, would establish the Stop Online Predators Act. The bill has not passed and is still being considered, so nothing is changing immediately for players. If approved, it would require covered online platforms to use age assurance and apply stricter defaults to accounts identified as belonging to minors.
For games, the most direct impact would be on social features. The bill summary says covered platforms would need to "turn off open chat functions and public profiles by default" for users under 18. It also describes parental control over privacy settings, friend requests and certain financial transactions involving minors.
That language could pull in major gaming services because modern games are often social networks as much as storefronts or matchmaking hubs. Roblox is the obvious example, since chat, friends and user-created spaces are central to the platform. Steam could also be affected where accounts, community features and purchases overlap with younger users.
The proposal lands during a wider age-check push
New York's bill is part of a larger policy shift around online age assurance. In the UK, Valve has already added Steam age checks tied to mature content access under the Online Safety Act. The system relies on credit cards for verification, with Valve saying the method preserves user privacy better than other reviewed mechanisms.
Xbox has also been moving toward age verification in the UK, where social features are becoming a focus for compliance. Sony has confirmed age verification plans for PlayStation in response to international requirements, with broader rollout expected in 2026.
California has taken a different route with its Digital Age Assurance Act. That law, approved in 2025 and operative from January 1, 2027, requires operating system providers to collect or confirm age information at account setup and send an age-bracket signal to applications through a real-time API. It covers computers, mobile devices and other general-purpose computing devices, which means the law can affect games through app stores and operating systems rather than only through individual game accounts.
New York's proposal is narrower in one sense because it focuses heavily on interaction between adults and minors on covered platforms. It could still be disruptive for games if chat, public profiles, digital currency transfers and friend requests need new default restrictions or parental approval flows.
The main caveat is timing. S4609A is a proposal, not active law. Game companies, platform holders and storefront operators do not need to change their systems because of it yet. The bill does show, however, that age verification is no longer only a website or social-media issue. Online games with chat and community features are increasingly being treated as part of the same safety and compliance debate.