The German government will take a stricter approach to loot boxes -apkrig
According to today’s report, a bill to reform the law on the protection of minors passed through the lower house of the German parliament. If the changes came into force, restrictions on gambling-related mechanisms would be activated, which by definition would include video games containing loot boxes. As Der Spiegel, for example, reported, this would mean that all such titles would automatically have to receive a USK rating of 18, which would mean a significantly narrower target group of customers for specific publishers. Der Spiegel used as an example games from the FIFA series, which are often criticized in connection with loot boxes in the FIFA Ultimate Team mode – their current rating is according to USK 0 (ie intended for everyone) and according to PEGI 3+.
Similar to the new pictograms recently introduced by the ESRB and PEGI, the USK rating will also be supplemented with information on whether the game contains microtransactions.
However, as the British Eurogamer points out, the original report has changed today, and therefore the wording of the reform, which does not ultimately include a forced change in the age rating of video games. It all depends on deleting the statement that reform will be sought in general disable payment trapssuch as loot boxes and further statements following this statement. Nevertheless, the German government does not want to leave these mechanisms unnoticed, and the aforementioned German age rating of USK will be supplemented by a set of warnings. Similar to the new pictograms recently introduced by the ESRB and PEGI, the USK rating will also be supplemented with information on whether the game contains the microtransactions just mentioned or other mechanisms that are harmful to young players.
It is still true that the reform must also be approved by the Federal Council after the lower house of parliament, and the changes would of course not only concern video games. At the same time, it is nice that the new wording of the law envisages the establishment of an advisory committee, which would include two representatives from the association of children and youth, who should not be more than 17 years old, so as not to completely detach from reality when assessing harmful elements. In addition to microtransactions, cyberbullying, so-called cybergrooming or manifestations of excessive violence are considered problematic.
Thus, any restrictions can be applied, for example, to film screenings, as well as to software intended for communication, which would also require the establishment of a body to control the Internet offer. According to the parliamentary report, this is especially feared by the Greens, who challenge the unclear division of competences between the federal and state governments precisely in the issue of the protection of minors and do not believe that the amendment to the law will solve this problem. Their representatives mention that parents, legal guardians, but also the teenagers themselves still do not understand why the same multimedia content is subject to different requirements depending on the distribution channel and they call for unification.
If it occurs, it will determine the approval of the amendment, or its return to the lower house of parliament with comments. The fact remains, however, that publishers are gradually coping with the pressure on loot boxes by switching to other payment models and the element is in decline. This is also indicated by marketing, which often relies on open denial random mechanisms and expansion offer a variety of battle passes or seasonal subscriptions.
