Usage policy
playing.company is meant to be a place for your own ideas. These rules apply to everything you enter, build, share or publish in the arcade – in all game languages, for games, world projects and AI media. They are part of the terms and conditions.
In short
- Invent your own characters, worlds, cities and names.
- Use real people and their voices only with their consent – and then only the first name in the game.
- Keep games friendly and suitable for ages 12 and up. There are no weapons and no violence in the open world.
- Report what is not okay.
What is prohibited
| Topic | Not allowed | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Third-party brands and characters | Names, characters, logos or worlds from games, films, series, books, toys, sport and advertising – also as a model (“like …”, “in the style of …”) for games, world projects, music, voices or trailers | “Super Mario”, “Pokémon”, “GTA”, “Elsa from Frozen”, “Champions League” |
| Third-party texts and music | Song lyrics, poems, book excerpts or well-known quotes at length; music “in the style of” an artist | Chorus of a pop song as game text |
| Real people | Real people without their consent, celebrities, politicians; surnames, addresses and other data of third parties | Game about a teacher using her full name |
| Real voices and voice cloning | Imitating or cloning voices of real people, voice-over “like” a well-known person, risk of confusion with real voices | “Voice like a TV presenter” |
| Photos and deepfakes | Uploading or recreating photos of real people; videos, images or scenes that show or fake real people (technically excluded) | Sister’s face as a game character |
| Hate and discrimination | Denigration based on origin, religion, gender, sexual identity, disability; extremist symbols | Enemies as a population group |
| Violence | Glorified or realistic violence, violence against real groups, terror, shooting rampages, animal cruelty | School-shooting scenario |
| World projects (open world, builder) | Weapons, violence against people or animals, real brands, city logos, official emblems, real places as a backdrop with real company or brand names. Chases end with catching or escaping | Bank robbery with firearms, police car with a real logo |
| Sexual content | Any form of sexual or suggestive content; content that sexualises minors is reported to the authorities | – |
| Gambling | Real-money gambling, betting, casino and slot simulations, loot boxes | Slot machine with stakes |
| Dangerous content | Instructions on weapons, drugs, self-harm or dangerous dares | Challenge game with real dares |
| Bullying and deception | Games that expose a real person; fake news; phishing; advertising without labelling | Quiz with rumours about classmates |
| Technical abuse and fraud | Bypassing filters and limits, automated mass builds, attacks on our systems, guessing or trading gift card codes, removing the AI labelling | Leetspeak to smuggle in brand names |
Personal games (birthday & co.)
Personal games are expressly welcome. Please use first names only. No surnames, addresses, photos or health information. The person receiving the game must agree; for children under 16, their parents. If you publish a personal game in the arcade, you confirm this consent first. Voice-over for personal games uses standard voices only; you may only include the first name with the person’s consent.
How we moderate
- Before the build: an automatic filter recognises known brands, characters, real people and prohibited terms – also in spelling variants and in other languages. If it finds something, it stops the build before credits are deducted and you can rephrase. For AI media we additionally filter requests for voice imitation and celebrities.
- During the build: the AI is instructed not to create prohibited content. The result is checked again.
- After publication: anyone can report games. A human reviews every notice – also for games in other languages.
- Measures: depending on severity a warning, removal from the arcade, blocking the game or individual media, restricting functions, or suspending the account. For repeated or serious violations we suspend permanently.
- Reasons and objection: you always receive a statement of reasons and can object within six months. Details under report content.
The filter can be wrong – in both directions. If your text was stopped unfairly, write to us. If something slips through, please report it. A game is not allowed just because the filter did not stop it. Our filter works most precisely in German and English; in the other game languages, reports help us especially.