The world of game announcements has become a lot more confusing recently, as Twitter has removed the last of the “legacy checkmarks” that verified the identities of notable accounts. Since many game companies have decided not to pay the new monthly fee for the checkmark, this means that fake game announcements are more difficult to disprove–and we’ve already seen a few do the rounds.
Trolls: “Are you the real Tony Hawk?”
me: yes, last I checked
Twitter: check again pic.twitter.com/SvI7VepJ5W— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) April 21, 2023
A fake announcement for a remake of SSX Tricky was posted to Twitter yesterday by an account claiming to be a revival of EA Sports Big. Gaming figure Tony Hawk referenced the confusion in a viral tweet, joking that the people who often fail to recognize him may have even more trouble thanks to the change.
Twitter’s new policy is that organizations must pay $1,000 a month for a gold “verified” checkmark. Many notable game companies no longer have the checkmark on Twitter, including PlayStation, Nvidia, AMD, and Nintendo of Europe. This is far from a gaming-only issue, as organizations like the New York Times have stated that they will not pay the fee, as well as the White House. As such, you should check any prospective gaming announcement carefully before you assume that it’s accurate, as they’re likely to surge in the coming weeks.
