The European Commission has launched new authorities aimed at protecting the rights of gamers, mentioning clear pricing, not forcing digital currencies as a requirement to enjoy the game, the right to withdraw, the information gathered from gamers, and having all of the important information available before purchase.
Quote From European Commission Today, the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network has launched EU-level coordinated actions in relation to nine video games companies, aiming to strengthen the protection of gamers' rights.
With these actions, the CPC Network is following up on the Key Principles on in-game virtual currencies, a set of guidelines on EU consumer law that promote transparency and fairness in the use of in-game virtual currencies.
Today's coordinated actions aim at ensuring that the following principles are applied:
Clear and transparent pricing: show the real-world price of in-game items and currencies that consumers need to buy to play the game.
Not to obscure costs: avoid multiple currencies or currency exchanges that make the real price unclear.
Not to force unwanted currency purchases: gamers should not feel obliged to buy an excessive amount of virtual currencies to progress or enjoy the game.
Provide clear information before the purchase: gamers must have access to information that is easy to understand before purchasing in-game virtual currencies or in-game items.
Respect the right to withdraw: gamers should be informed about their right to withdraw from contracts within 14 days, including for unused virtual currency.
Use fair and understandable terms: the games' terms and conditions should be fair and clear for the players.
Protect vulnerable consumers: companies should ensure that games offer appropriate safeguards to all consumers, including vulnerable users such as children.
The CPC Network has today also adopted a Joint Statement, setting out a common approach to protect gamers' consumer rights across the EU market.
Background
The CPC Network is composed of national authorities responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. Working together and coordinated by the European Commission, they act against consumer law breaches that affect many people and involve more than one Member State.
In 2025, the CPC Network opened a dialogue with the video games industry to ensure alignment with the Key Principles. As the dialogue did not bring satisfactory results, the Network proceeded with a market check and identified several games, which would require further assessment: Hunt: Showdown 1896, Forge of Empires, Candy Crush Saga, Minecraft, Mech Arena, Gardenscapes, Valorant, Clash of Clans, For Honor. The investigations launched today concern Crytek GmbH, InnoGames GmbH, King.com Operations (Malta) Limited, Mojang AB, Plarium Europe S.à.r.l., PLR Worldwide Sales Limited, Riot Games Limited, Supercell Oy, and Ubisoft EMEA SAS.
In parallel, the CPC Network is conducting an action with Activision Blizzard UK Limited to ensure compliance with EU consumer law in the games Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty Mobile. As part of this action, the CPC Network is examining how in-game virtual currencies are sold, how personal data from gamers are collected, whether games have addictive designs, the standard settings for parental control, direct marketing to children, the display of pre-contractual information, and the blocking of gaming accounts.
Such a movement comes with the fact that last year, the commission sought out a discussion with nine gaming companies and failed to achieve satisfactory results, also mentioning the practice of loot boxes and the protection of children.
Quote From European Commission Joint Statement of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network on Stronger Consumer Protection in Video Games across the EU Single Market
The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network unites national authorities who are responsible for protecting consumers in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). The CPC Network enforces a range of EU consumer protection laws, including rules on deceptive and unfair business practices. In particular, under Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 (CPC Regulation) CPC Network authorities cooperate to address cross-border infringements of EU consumer protection law, including widespread infringements and widespread infringements with a Union dimension.
The CPC Network seeks to foster a vibrant and competitive European video game market that provides a supportive environment for businesses. At the same time, the CPC Network is committed to ensuring that rights of consumers playing video games are protected, with particular attention to children and other vulnerable consumer groups. The gaming sector reaches millions of consumers across Europe and generates significant revenues. A broad consensus among academics, consumer advocates and gamers is that some video game business models and design practices harm consumers, especially vulnerable groups such as children. These practices are associated with certain uses of virtual currencies, of loot boxes and deceptive techniques such as misleading countdown timers and unfounded scarcity claims, among others. Some video games directly exhort children to make purchases, despite an explicit prohibition in EU consumer protection law. Consumers across Europe should be able to play and interact video games without being tricked into spending more money or time on video games than they want.
Self-regulation initiatives, such as the Pan-European Game Information (PEGI), have brought some positive changes for consumers, but they often fail to address the core of harmful practices. In March 2025, the CPC Network, coordinated by the European Commission, adopted “The Consumer Protection Cooperation Network’s Key Principles on In-game Virtual Currencies” (the Key Principles), which provide practical guidance on the application of relevant EU consumer protection rules to practices involving in-game virtual currencies. This was followed by a dialogue with video games industry organisations on the application of these Key Principles. While the dialogue has allowed for an exchange with members of the industry organisations on the practices in question, the CPC Network has found indications that a high number of video game companies have not made any substantive changes to their video games as a result of the CPC Network’s public guidance, nor as a result of the extensive talks between the CPC Network and the gaming industry that have taken place over the course of the past years.
Today, the CPC Network has announced the launch of eleven CPC Network coordinated actions to request Activision Blizzard UK Limited, Crytek GmbH, InnoGames GmbH, King.com Limited, Mojang AB, Plarium Europe S.à.r.l., PLR Worldwide Sales Limited, Riot Games Limited, Supercell Oy and Ubisoft EMEA SAS to bring their commercial practices relating to in-game virtual currencies into line with EU consumer protection laws.
In accordance with the CPC Regulation, the CPC Network has chosen a coordinated EU/EEA-wide enforcement approach, as video games are cross-border products operating across the single European Market, and consistency of enforcement outcomes needs to be ensured.
The CPC Network will continue to take joint enforcement actions, where appropriate, to address practices that do not comply with EU consumer protection legislation. On this basis the CPC Network calls on all companies active in the video gaming sector to review their practices and address any compliance issues, in particular those raised in the existing CPC Network common positions and any subsequent one which will be disclosed in the future.
Particular attention is given to compliance with EU consumer protection law in relation to variable reward systems (e.g. loot boxes), especially where such systems are directed at, or made available to, children. In its coordinated actions, the CPC Network addresses harmful influencing techniques, including dark patterns, as well as aggressive commercial practices affecting vulnerable consumers, such as children, and practices involving direct exhortation to children.
The CPC Network seeks to ensure coordinated and efficient enforcement, while promoting a high level of consumer protection and greater legal certainty for both consumers and traders operating in the video game sector across the EU/EEA single market.
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