News
ESRB, PEGI Add Descriptors for Games With In-Game Purchases for Loot Boxes
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Both the United States' Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and Europe's Pan European Game Information (PEGI) announced on Monday that they will include new descriptions for games that can direct players to use real-world currency to buy random in-game items. These include purchases for which players do not know beforehand what they are buying, including loot boxes, gacha rolls, item packs, treasure chests, and similar mechanics. The ESRB's new indicator will read "In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)," and PEGI's indicator will read "Includes Paid Random Items."
The ESRB already previously introduced a "In-Game Purchases" descriptive marking for games that can direct players to use currency on in-game purchases (such as DLC, costume packs, etc.), but the new marking specifically indicates purchases for random items. Similarly, PEGI has been using an in-game purchases descriptor since September 2018, and the new marking will specify if the game includes paid random items.
Sources: ESRB via Siliconera, PEGI
