![]() They do still have to contend with UK regulators, who six months ago threatened legislation against companies that don't improve parental controls in games with loot boxes. There's also the small matter of my country not being in the EU anymore, meaning game companies won't have to abide by any potential EU legislation when it comes to their UK operations. Remember when they declared we could all resell our Steam games, back in 2012? It's good to see the EU talking the talk on better regulation and consumer protection, but I'm sceptical about how much it will mean in practice. There's plenty I haven't mentioned, and there's a draft version of the report itself on the EU's website - but you're probably better off checking out 's roundup at the bottom of this article. These systems may also be known as gacha (based on gashapon capsule toys) and integrated into gacha games. They also voted to boost their games industry investment and involvment in a seperate resolution last November. A loot box is typically a form of monetisation, with players either buying the boxes directly or receiving the boxes during play and later buying 'keys' with which to redeem them. ![]() Hopefully more than creating a European online video game award, which they provide as one concrete suggestion. Like López said, the report doesn't just condemn elements of the games industry - it also asks the Commision to devise a "European Video Game Strategy" that will help the industry "unlock it's full potential", whatever that means. Currently PEGI is a legal requirement in some countries (including the UK, despite it no longer being in the EU) but not others. But 90 percent of that money comes from a small group of particularly in-game-spending-obsessed customers, known in industry parlance as whales, who make up just a small percentage of players. ![]() They also want the PEGI rating system to play a greater role, and for the Commision to "consider enshrining it in EU law to make PEGI its Code of Conduct the mandatory age-rating system for all games in the single market". Loot boxes generate 15 billion a year revenue for gaming companies. That makes sense, seen as the practice constitutes illegal unregulated gambling. The strongest commitment I can see is the report's call "to put an end to illegal practices allowing anyone to exchange, sell or bet on in-game and third-party sites (for skin betting)". According to, the Commision (the EU's executive body) will now, for example, "analyse the impact of loot boxes and prompts to make in-game purchases, taking action if necessary, as well as investigating whether gold-farming can be linked to financial crimes and human rights abuses". Many of the recommendations are targeted at protecting children, with López calling for "strengthened consumer protection with a specific focus on minors."Įndorsing the report means that the EU will now take further steps, though for the most part that doesn't mean they've decided on any specific actions or new legislation. The report was led by MEP Adriana Maldonado López, who said it "highlights the positives of this pioneering industry, but also social risks we need to bear in mind, like the impact of gaming on mental health".
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