PEGI is getting stricter about how it determines a game’s age rating, with the presence of microtransactions and loot boxes becoming a major factor.
While publishers such as EA have always defended the inclusion of loot boxes in their video games, especially since they’re entirely optional, others have decried them as a form of gambling.
There’s long been concerns that loot boxes have been a major contributor in getting children hooked on gambling, and while while legislation has been discussed in the UK there’s no sign of loot boxes being banned outright, as they are in some countries.
However, changes are coming to how age ratings for video games are determined in the UK and Europe, so that the mere presence of loot boxes will see games advertised as being strictly for ages 16 and upward.
This is according to PEGI (Pan-European Game Information) and its direction general Dirk Bosmans (via Eurogamer), which is the board responsible for issuing suitable age ratings to video games when they launch in the UK and most of Europe.
Until now, the presence of loot boxes or microtransactions wasn’t enough to affect a game’s age rating; it only results in a notifier on the back of the box informing customers that there are paid in-game purchases.
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So, sports title like the annual EA Sports FC football games and 2K’s NBA basketball sims have continued to be deemed suitable for ages three and up.
That won’t be the case anymore starting from June, though, as PEGI will be introducing four new categories to its criteria in a bid to better highlight elements of addictive game design; one of which concerns loot boxes.
Any game that contains loot boxes, which Bosmans describes as ‘your average card pack systems, gacha systems, but also keys to unlock the random items,’ will be automatically slapped with a PEGI 16 rating.
You have to imagine that EA and 2K will not be especially thrilled with this decision, as the all ages appeal of their sports games is one of the reasons why they’re such massive sellers.
By alerting customers that such games are not suitable for children under the age of 16, parents might be less willing to buy annual entries for their kids every Christmas. It also means retailers can no longer sell these games directly to children.
It’s too soon to tell, though, if this change will have a substantial impact on game sales, since it does depend on whether most parents will actually notice or care. A parent who’s been buying EA Sports FC games for their kid for years may figure that, unless new entries have suddenly added Mortal Kombat style violence, the change in age rating is irrelevant.
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The change may encourage publishers to enforce regulation on loot boxes themselves, in order to have the age ratings lowered; something that Bosmans has suggested.
‘We will not rule out that in the future that, if the PEGI 7 with mitigating circumstances for in-game purchases works, that if companies would develop in-game controls that put access to paid loot boxes off by default, we might see a PEGI 12,’ explained Bosmans, ‘But for the moment, that doesn’t exist.’
Other new criteria that can affect a game’s age rating include time limited rewards like battle passes, unrestricted online communication, and NFTs; the last of which will see a game slapped with a PEGI 18 rating if they’re mandatory.
‘This is, in terms of scope and quantitatively speaking, probably the most significant update we’ve had in our history,’ said Bosmans, later adding, ‘I’m sure that in a couple of weeks, I’ll be hearing from companies or people that are not happy with all of this. You cannot please them all.
‘But I do think that for the video games industry as in general, this is an important step forward in showing lawmakers who have more radical ideas about addressing video games, that we are capable of taking our responsibility.’
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