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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →In July 2025, PC Gamer reported that it reproduced a demonstration in which a posed image of Sam Porter Bridges from Death Stranding 2: On the Beach passed Discord’s face-based age check. That is evidence of a reported weakness in one Discord flow at that time—not proof that the trick worked on Reddit, every verification flow, or either platform today.
What happened with Death Stranding 2’s photo mode?
Reports published in late July 2025 described a demonstration using a character image made in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach photo mode. Its posed facial expressions were central to the demonstration: Discord’s face-check flow reportedly asked users to move their face, and a character image was said to satisfy the check. PC Gamer said its staff reproduced the Discord result. PC Gamer’s report and HotHardware’s coverage identify the game and Discord as the focus.
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The reports appeared around the start of UK enforcement of age-assurance duties described in coverage of the Online Safety Act. That timing is context for the story, not a current explanation of UK law; the reports do not establish the legal requirements that apply now. Windows Central’s contemporaneous coverage also attributed a 1,400% hourly increase in Proton VPN sign-ups to the provider after enforcement began. That is a vendor-reported spike repeated by the outlet, not a general measure of VPN use.
Did the method work on Reddit too?
The Reddit claim is less firmly supported than the Discord demonstration. TechRadar described its author’s own Reddit face scan as working, but reported difficulty with Discord. That account is a separate anecdote; it does not establish that a Death Stranding 2 image passed Reddit’s check. TechRadar’s account should not be merged with PC Gamer’s reproduced Discord test into a single confirmed result across both services.
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A Reddit discussion included questions such as what part of Reddit requires age verification and whether other photorealistic images could work. The thread also contains jokes and user claims, but those comments are not systematic tests or evidence of platform-wide behavior. The discussion thread is useful as a record of the reaction, not as verification of the method.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the reports do—and do not—prove
- Reported and reproduced: PC Gamer said it reproduced the result with Discord’s face-check flow in 2025.
- Reported separately: TechRadar described an individual Reddit face-scan experience, not a verified success using the game image.
- Not established: A success rate, reliable repeatability, effectiveness on every verification flow, or present-day compatibility with Discord or Reddit.
- Not a current legal guide: The dated coverage provides context about UK age-assurance enforcement, but does not establish current legal duties.
None of the cited reports confirms whether Discord or Reddit now accepts or blocks this method. Treat the story as an illustration of a potential weakness in face-based age assurance, not as a dependable way to get around age checks.
Why Death Stranding 2 became part of the story
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has a photo mode that lets players pose Sam and adjust his expression. The 2025 demonstration reportedly relied on that ability to present a convincing face-like image to a particular face-check flow. The significance is not that the game provides a general-purpose verification tool; it is that an image of a game character was reported to pass a check intended to assess a real person.
For game context, the title at the center of the reports is Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, sometimes listed for PS5 as “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach PS5.” Availability, edition details, and current listings are not established here.
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