Here’s quite a minor revolution for the video game rating system in Europe. PEGI, which is used throughout Europe except Germany, will apply new criteria starting in June 2026.
These four new criteria could radically change a game’s PEGI rating. For example, a title that includes the option to purchase random paid items (loot boxes) will be classified as PEGI 16 by default. This means, for example, that EA Sports FC will lose its traditional PEGI 3 rating and will be inadvisable for players under the age of 16.
-
Purchases of in-game content: games with time-limited or quantity-limited offers will be classified with a PEGI 12, games with NFTs or blockchain-related mechanisms will be PEGI 18.
-
Paid random items: the default rating will be PEGI 16 if the game contains paid random items (and in some cases they can be a PEGI 18).
-
Play-by-appointment: mechanisms that reward returning to the game (e.g. daily quests) will get a PEGI 7. If these mechanisms punish players for not returning (e.g. by losing content or reducing progress) they will become PEGI 12.
-
Safe online gameplay: if games contain entirely unrestricted communication features (e.g. no blocking or reporting), they will be PEGI 18.
All publishers must communicate whether a game has any of these elements before release to get its PEGI rating.
