ESRB defends “fun” loot boxes as it starts labeling all “in-game purchases” [Updated]
Enlarge / As an example, here's Quake Champions' loot box scheme, with the paid boxes' prices hiding behind a confusing "secondary" currency. (The game has two kinds of coins: ones that can only be earned, and ones that can only be purchased with real money. A lot of loot-box games do the same confusing thing.)
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) today announced that all physical, boxed games that contain in-game purchases will include a label notifying purchasers of that fact "in the near future." The new program expands on a similar "digital purchases" label that already appears alongside the ratings for exclusively downloadable games that appear on some digital storefronts.
The "in-game purchases" label will appear on the box right by the game's letter rating, nearby but separate from existing content descriptors such as "Intense Violence," "Nudity," and "Strong Sexual Content." The label will be applied evenly to all games that include any additional content to be purchased, including "bonus levels, skins, surprise items (such as item packs, loot boxes, mystery awards), music, virtual coins and other forms of in-game currency, subscriptions, season passes and upgrades (e.g., to disable ads)," the ESRB said in a press release.
The ESRB's move comes as multiple state legislatures have begun looking into regulation of the randomized in-game purchases known as loot boxes. Earlier this month, Senator Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) sent an open letter to the ESRB to examine whether games with loot boxes are being marketed "in an ethical and transparent way that adequately protects the developing minds of young children from predatory practices." Hassan said at the time that Federal Trade Commission action may be necessary if the game industry does not take steps on this issue.
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