PEGI ratings for game releases in Europe will be age-restricted if they contain loot boxes

European regulators are continuing to crack down on loot boxes and gaming features it classifies as "interactive risk categories." The Pan-European Game Information, better known as PEGI, is rolling out new rules that will apply age ratings based on the presence of loot boxes and other in-game purchases or systems that could be tied to gambling or addictive behavior. The exact policies are as follows:

• 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 ...