Will Freeman hired as AskAboutGames editor as VSC and Ukie renew deal

Freelance journalist and former Develop editor, Will Freeman, has been named editor of the AskAboutGames website. Following a renewal in a deal with the Video Standards Council (VSC) and games industry trade body Ukie, the website is relaunching today.

The site is designed to help parents, teachers, government and the wider industry understand more about the games industry and consumer relations to it. From children’s online behaviour, instructions on enabling parental controls to PEGI ratings, the site has long been the go-to place for advice on games and age-appropriate content and protection.

Freeman, who has written freelance for many places including The Guardian, Edge, Eurogamer, Vice and Develop will bring over a decade of games industry experience to the site as the editor. "I adore sharing the potential of games with people, and AskAboutGames is a brilliant way of doing just that, said Freeman in a press release.

"The diversity of the game medium’s content today is perhaps the best thing about it. There’s a wild variety of gaming experiences to be enjoyed by a range of very different audiences. It’s an exciting time to be involved with games. That does mean, however, that we have to be careful and responsible in making sure game content is appropriate to the audiences that consume it."

"Our goal is for parents and carers to be able to make informed decisions when buying games," said director general of the VSC, Ian Rice. "Supporting AskAboutGames helps us reach a much greater audience, meaning that in this time of heightened concern about eSafety, more parents can be confident they are making the right choices towards keeping their children safe and happy online.

"The VSC Rating Board and Will are the perfect partners for the project as between them they have a world of knowledge about family-friendly games and PEGI ratings, and we look forward to working together to really promote online health for players of all ages," added Ukie CEO, Dr Jo Twist OBE.