According to a report authored by the Parliament, there should be harmonised rules that allow parents in particular to know more about the content of the games their children play, as well as the amount of money they spend while playing the game.
Features like loot boxes – which offer players a random selection of virtual items – and gold-farming – which allows players to exchange in-game currency for real-life money – have become commonplace in modern games.
However, there are concerns that younger gamers in particular can be targeted by these features and that gold-farming could be linked to financial crimes and human rights abuses. MEPs are keen to draw a line in the sand as a result.
The report calls on the European Commission – the executive branch of the EU – to come up with a video game strategy, which should include EU-wide rules and an assessment of how loot boxes and gold-farming actually impact players.
Thirty-eight countries use the Pan European...