The legislative arm of the European Union vowed to take on loot boxes and “gaming addiction” in a bid to protect children and other online players against a variety of digital harms as part of a new report that was adopted with a large majority vote on Wednesday, January 18. The same report also reconfirmed the EU’s commitment to continue supporting video game developers and publishers across the political bloc. As such, this move dovetails with the European Parliament’s late 2020vote to increase investments in the gaming industry.The European Union had its sights on loot boxes for nearly a decade by now, albeit it took years to decide on its approach toward regulating virtual consumables. Its latest policy shift was prompted by a 2020 EU report that recommended tackling loot boxes with consumer protection legislation. Prior to that,the EU treated loot boxes as a gambling issue.RELATED:EU Reportedly Objecting to Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard PurchaseThe new report championed by Spanish MEP Adriana Maldonado López was adopted with 577 votes in favor, 56 against, and 15 abstentions. Arguably its most notable takeaway is that the EU agreed to push for specific measures to provide parents with an informative overview and control of the kind of games their children play and how much time and money they spend in doing so. It’s possible that this future framework will extend or at least build upon the existingPan European Game Information (PEGI) systemthat’s already used in 38 countries across the Old Continent, the report states.
The European Parliament has also agreed that developers should take special care to avoid putting out titles that “feed addiction,” in addition to taking the “age, rights, and vulnerabilities” of their target demographics into account while designing games. That said, the newly adopted EU report does not specify any particular policy on how to monitor or otherwise regulate this aspect of game development.
On a brighter note, the January 18 vote also saw the Parliament propose the creation of an “annual European online video game award” that would celebrate the most accomplished studios across the EU. The next step in that plan to createyet another GOTY awardis a single-market video game strategy that the MEPs asked the European Commission to produce. In doing so, the EU is hoping to unlock the full potential of what it deems an important “creative and cultural sector,” the report reads.
As far as loot boxes are concerned, many of the world’s largest developers have anticipated this regulatory shift and already started embracing new forms of monetization. One such example isBlizzard, whose competitive shooterOverwatch 2got rid of loot boxes in favor of seasonal battle passes.
