The European video game rating system, Pan European Game Information (PEGI), announced it will upgrade the ratings for games that contain loot boxes. Under the new rules, set to come into force in June, games that feature paid random items will be PEGI 16, and in some cases, PEGI 18. 

The changes could have knock-on effects on a host of games, including many popular among under-16-year-olds, such as EA FC. 

An Austrian court recently ruled that loot boxes in EA’s games were not sufficient to classify them as gambling, but PEGI argues they are not suitable for children. 

It stated that the substantive change for the system will help bolster online safety and meet the concerns and questions of today’s parents. 

The organization developed the new criteria in collaboration with the German age rating authority USK (Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle), which implemented similar changes in 2023 following an update of the German Youth Protection Act.

What Are The New Rules?

In a press release announcing the changes, PEGI said the new rules are as follows:

• Purchases of in-game content: games with time-limited or quantity-limited offers will be classified with a PEGI 12, and 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.

Dirk Bosmans, Director of PEGI, said, “We are confident that these ambitious updates to PEGI’s classification criteria will provide parents and players with more useful and transparent advice that better reflects the overall experience that players can expect from the video games they play.”

The PEGI system is followed by most European countries, including the UK. Other regions have their own rating standards, such as the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in North America and the Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO) in Japan.

Loot boxes have come under increased scrutiny in the US, with New York’s Attorney General filing a lawsuit against Valve. This could prompt the ESRB to upgrade its rating for games. 

The ESRB currently adds a notice on the game’s packaging and digital storefront if it contains loot boxes or other randomized purchases. However, games with random rewards can still be rated E (for everyone). 

EA FC, for example, is rated E and has been rated PEGI 3 in Europe. The 2027 game, however, is likely to be rated PEGI 16, unless the game developers remove some of its current features. 

Loot Boxes Widely Used 

After a second lawsuit was brought against Valve over its loot boxes earlier this week, the company responded, arguing that the in-game rewards are no different from baseball or Pokémon cards. 

The company stated: “We shared with the NYAG that these types of boxes in our games are widely used, not just in video games but in the tangible world as well, where generations have grown up opening baseball card packs and blind boxes and bags, and then trading and selling the items they receive.

“On the physical side, popular products used in this way include baseball cards, Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, and Labubu. In the game space, digital packs similar to our boxes date back to 2004 and are in widespread use.”

Valve’s games are unlikely to be affected by the new PEGI ratings, with the majority already rated PEGI 16 or 18.