UK Online Safety Rules Challenge Games Industry as Pokémon Tops $10B

The UK Online Safety Act (OSA) came into force last Friday after years in the works, and smaller games companies are already feeling the fallout, according to an excerpt by Lewis Packwood for GamesIndustry.biz. Andrew Wailes, CEO and founder of the digital identity platform PlaySafe ID, warned, "There’s a lot of uncertainty around the OSA ruling out there, in the games industry and beyond."

Wailes, who recently put together a guide for GamesIndustry.biz on how game makers can comply with the OSA, said the practical effect is visible now. "We’ve seen a number of small and mid-sized companies – particularly those behind forums and other community platforms – choose to entirely block UK access. Many are struggling with the complexity of OSA compliance, and have misestimated the effort needed – leading them to pull the plug on the UK while they unpack thousands of pages of guidance," he told GamesIndustry.biz.

PocketGamer.biz framed the regulatory environment slightly differently, highlighting a UK online safety consultation "posing challenges for games developers," and separately noting "Pokémon's massive $10 billion success in mobile gaming." The two items ran alongside other weekly industry commentary: "This week's views unpack key industry stories," the PocketGamer.biz snippet stated.

GamesIndustry.biz's excerpt bundled the OSA coverage with a series of other industry headlines, including verbatim items: "Some game firms are struggling with the complexities of the UK Online Safety Act", "Pitchify launches new service to connect developers and publishers", "nDreams announces restructuring with "significant" staff reduction, two studios closed", "Google resolves dispute with Epic Games, reduces app store fees to 20%", "Industry veteran launches indie-focused talent agency Rocket Game Talent", "Build a Rocket Boy confirms more layoffs amid further claims of "organized espionage and corporate sabotage"", "Former Blizzard CCO and Bonfire CEO Rob Pardo to present keynote address at GDC Festival of Gaming", "Turkish mobile developer Vento Games secures $4m in seed round funding", "Sony reportedly scaling back PC ports for PlayStation exclusives", and "Gamescom 2026: Registered exhibitors up 15%, more than 40 countries taking".

The supplied excerpts do not include publication dates for either piece, nor a calendar date to pin down the "last Friday" when the OSA took effect, and the Pokémon $10 billion figure is presented without a timeframe or breakdown of which mobile titles are included. The GamesIndustry.biz excerpt credits its author as Lewis Packwood, Features Editor, and lists an image credit of Thomas Park on Unsplash.

With companies reportedly blocking UK access while they "unpack thousands of pages of guidance," the immediate industry picture is one of compliance strain for smaller forum and community platforms even as major revenue headlines, like Pokémon's $10 billion mobile milestone, underscore the scale and stakes at play across the mobile games market.