German Games With Loot Boxes Will Be Restricted To Adults If Amendment Approved - TechRaptor

The German government has passed a law that will see games featuring loot boxes restricted to adults if the law is approved by the Federal Council as is likely to happen this Spring. The law is intended to prevent children from accessing games featuring loot boxes and spending real money on them.

How will the new German law affect games with loot boxes?

This news comes to us from Der Spiegel (note: we're using machine translation for the article). The news platform says the Bundestag approved a reform of the Youth Protection Act which will bring in stricter age ratings for games in Germany. This means that games such as EA's FIFA 21, which prominently features loot box mechanics as part of its Ultimate Team game mode, would have sales restricted to those of 18 or over. Naturally, this will come as a massive blow for EA; a large proportion of FIFA's audience is below the age of 18, and this new law will have a serious impact on how those players are able to access the game.

Overwatch loot boxes — Many games prominently featuring loot boxes, such as *Overwatch*, will be affected by the new German law.

In essence, this law leaves game publishers in Germany with two options. They can either accept that their games can now only be sold to adults, or they can disable loot box mechanics in their games, at least by default. Neither option will be particularly appealing; the former will result in reduced sales, while the latter won't bring in quite as much money through microtransactions. The new law won't differentiate between mobile games, PC games, and consoles; it will apply equally to all platforms. Lawyer Julia Maris says children and teens are "not sufficiently protected" online right now, and that there would be "huge fines" for those who violate the new law.

What does this mean for loot boxes in other countries?

Naturally, since this decision has been made in Germany, it's not binding anywhere else. However, it does come after a long series of controversies surrounding loot boxes elsewhere in the world. Last year, the UK's Gambling Health Alliance (GHA) found that more than 1 in 10 young gamers are in debt as a result of loot boxes. This followed a report by Capcom which condemned the use of loot boxes, as well as penalties and lawsuits for EA specifically in the Netherlands and Canada.

It's looking pretty tricky for publishers in a world that seems increasingly hostile towards the concept of loot boxes. We've reached out to both EA and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) for comment on this story, and will bring you more as soon as we get it. While you may still be able to purchase loot boxes in many games right now, their days could well be numbered. Stay tuned.

How do you feel about loot boxes and the new German law? Let us know in the comments below!

Let's block ads! (Why?)