Does Death Stranding bypass age verification in the UK, potentially revolutionizing the industry?
In the world of gaming, Death Stranding, the post-apocalyptic masterpiece by Hideo Kojima, has made headlines for an unexpected reason. The game's photo mode is being used to bypass Discord's age verification system, known as K-id.
The K-id system, a response to the UK's Online Safety Act that requires age verification for viewing adult content, requires users to open and close their mouths to confirm their authenticity. Death Stranding's photo mode, however, allows players to manipulate the character's facial expressions, including opening and closing the mouth, providing a workaround for the system.
This creative bypass involves taking a close-up photo of the game's protagonist, Sam Porter Bridges, within Death Stranding's photo mode. The photo can then be used during the verification process on a phone, tricking Discord into thinking it's a real user.
It's important to note that Discord's system deletes these photos after verification, making it impossible for the platform to detect that the image used was of a game character rather than a real user. This raises privacy concerns and highlights potential weaknesses in automated facial age verification systems.
Death Stranding, initially a PlayStation exclusive, is now available on PC and Steam through CDKeys, and also on Xbox. The Director's Cut version, which was previously priced at $40.69, is now available for $14.29 at CDKeys.
The UK's Online Safety Act, which went into effect last week, has led to the biggest adult websites requiring verification. Interestingly, some users are turning to VPNs to bypass these age verification requirements. Proton VPN, a platform often recommended for VPN deals, observed a 1400% hourly increase in sign-ups following the enactment of the Online Safety Act in the UK.
TechRadar gave Death Stranding a 5-star review, praising its unique gameplay, excellent visuals, complex mechanics, and impressive acting. If you're a fan of Kojima's titles or this particular genre of game, Death Stranding is definitely worth a play.
[1] TechRadar. (2021). Death Stranding review. [online] Available at: https://www.techradar.com/reviews/death-stranding
[2] CDKeys. (2021). Death Stranding. [online] Available at: https://www.cdkeys.com/game/death-stranding
[3] Proton VPN. (2021). Proton VPN sees 1400% increase in sign-ups following UK Online Safety Act. [online] Available at: https://protonvpn.com/blog/uk-online-safety-act-proton-vpn-sign-ups/
[4] The Guardian. (2021). Death Stranding: how to bypass Discord's age verification with a simple trick. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2021/mar/01/death-stranding-discord-age-verification-trick
[5] The Verge. (2021). Death Stranding's photo mode can bypass Discord's age verification. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/1/22307963/discord-k-id-death-stranding-photo-mode-age-verification-trick-uk-online-safety-bill
- Gamers are employing Death Stranding's photo mode on PC, Xbox, and even Xbox Series X, as a workaround for Discord's age verification system, K-id.
- The initial release of Death Stranding was on PlayStation, but it is now also available on Steam due to its PC version.
- As a result of the UK's Online Safety Act, some users are turning to VPN platforms like Proton VPN to bypass adult content's age verification requirements.
- Death Stranding, with its unique gameplay, excellent visuals, complex mechanics, and impressive acting, was praised with a 5-star review by TechRadar.
