European consumer protection authorities have announced a series of “coordinated actions” aimed at 10 video companies, accusing several of the biggest names in the industry–like Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft–of “dark patterns” that are designed to put minors and individuals at risk of gaming addiction.
If you’ve ever purchased in-game currency, then you’re probably aware of how one of these tactics works. For example, Destiny 2’s in-game currency, Silver, comes in bundles of 500, 1,000, and 1,500 units, but buying a fancy new skin for a set of armor ornaments costs between 600 and 1,500 Silver. That way, you’re forced to purchase extra Silver that you don’t need, and you can exchange any remaining Silver back for cash, creating what is essentially a one-way exchange rate conversion. Destiny 2 isn’t an outlier in this space, as multiple big games like Fortnite and Call of Duty all have their own currencies, available through exploitative bundle deals. The key takeaway is that the setup of these bundles ensures that you’ll always be short a few digital bucks on the one item you really want.
One of the few games that is changing its approach to in-game currency is Fortnite, as starting October 14, players can purchase the exact amount of V-Bucks they need. This change will also roll out to Rocket League and Fall Guys across Xbox, Nintendo, PC, Android, iPhone, and the Fortnite web Item Shop, but for now, it won’t be supported on PlayStation.
The European-wide enforcement says that it’s focused on practices that obscure real-world spending in video games, such as the use of premium in-game currencies, selling virtual currencies in set quantities that rarely align with item prices and thus force players to overspend, and insufficient parental control mechanisms. Under the coordination of the European Commission, the goal is to promote transparency and fairness, as well as protect the rights of consumers and minors when playing video games.
So far, the following companies have been targeted by the Italian Competition Authority-led actions:
- Activision Blizzard
- Crytek
- InnoGames GmbH
- King
- Mojang
- Plarium Europe S.à.r.l.
- PLR Worldwide Sales Limited
- Riot Games
- Supercell
- Ubisoft
Activision Blizzard remains the primary point of focus, with games like Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty being singled out, expanding on previous investigations carried out on those titles. Manipulative user interface design tactics and poor customer support have also been cited as areas of concern. “These practices make it difficult for gamers, particularly vulnerable consumers, such as minors and individuals at risk of gaming addiction, to understand and keep track of how much money they are spending,” the EC press statement reads.
If successful, this action could set a new regulatory precedent with stricter oversight of monetization strategies in free-to-play and live-service games across all European markets. This follows a recent trend across the world, where consumer protection, UI design, and contract transparency has come under the spotlight. Several years ago, the Federal Trade Commission began an investigation into “roach motel” subscriptions in live-service games that only required a single click to sign up for season passes or recurring subscriptions, but canceling them required the digital equivalent of jumping through multiple hoops.
Meanwhile, Sony has claimed that it doesn’t mislead customers into purchasing digital licenses for games (instead of actual ownership of the product) as it moves closer towards its all-digital future, and it is also set to pay out nearly $8 million to PlayStation customers as part of a settlement regarding digital game prices.