Guest article provided by TrustCloud
Smurfing is a controversial phenomenon that needs to be understood and addressed to foster respectful and competitive online gaming communities.
Harmless tactic or ethical challenge?
Smurfing in online multiplayer video games is a practice where experienced players use fake identities or low-level accounts to face less skilled players and gain an unfair advantage. While some defend this tactic as a way to help newcomers or play with friends of similar skill levels, it is widely considered unsportsmanlike and unfair as it ruins the experience for other players and distorts the game balance.
Necessary strategies
To combat smurfing, developers and user communities are implementing various strategies. For instance, many platforms have adopted ranking-based matchmaking systems, grouping players based on their skill and experience in the game. However, smurfing can corrupt these systems, leading experienced players to be unfairly matched with novices.
Smurfing is not only a manoeuvre that harms the user community but also has dire consequences for providers. The emergence of bots and fake accounts influences player retention and, consequently, revenue. No one wants to participate in a platform where insecurity and foul play prevail.
In this regard, the adoption of machine learning has become increasingly relevant in smurfing detection, allowing the identification of suspicious behavioural patterns and accounts that deviate from expectations. Additionally, requesting and analysing verifiable credentials, such as unique phone numbers or email addresses, makes it difficult to create multiple smurf accounts and strengthens security in the gaming environment. TrustCloud is able, through solutions such as video identification, document verification or biometric analysis, to address the damaging effects of smurfing on the reputation of gaming platforms.
Mitigating the negative effects of smurfing
It is crucial to promote a healthy gaming community and raise awareness among players about the negative effects of smurfing to reduce its incidence. However, when filters are necessary, providers applying them should do so respectfully. The adoption of digital technologies capable of robust verification in real-time is essential to combat this practice.
These words provide a clue about the evolution of digital identity and how it can be applied in these circumstances. Biometric analysis and, especially, blockchain technology are helping create highly secure yet transparent identification systems. These trends allow us to envision a future where smurfing is eliminated, and players can enjoy a fair, secure, and authentic gaming experience.
