European game rating agency PEGI is updating the age rating of titles featuring loot boxes to comply with its new classification categories.
The move means existing digital-only releases that are currently rated PEGI 3, 7 or 12 and feature paid random items (i.e. loot boxes) will have their age rating updated to PEGI 16. They will also be branded with a descriptor noting the inclusion of 'Paid random items.'
The update will be deployed across all storefronts that leverage the PEGI rating system and will take some time to complete. Marvel Rivals is an example of one title impacted by the rollout.
"Online games can remain available and updated for a very long period of time. To avoid that our age ratings over time become inconsistent, we decided to perform this update," said PEGI director Dirk Bosmans. "This update ensures that when older games remain popular into the future, they reflect PEGI's current age rating standards."
PEGI announced the classification change back in March (thanks GI.biz) and said the pivot should help parents make informed decisions when deciding which video games are suitable for their children.
"We always say, look, if we say that the video game is 16 and you let your 14-year-old play it, if you know that the game is 16 and you decide that your 14-year-old is old enough to play this game, that's an informed decision," Bosmans told GI.biz at the time. "That's different from, 'I don't know what this all is, here, play it, and I don't need to deal with it'."
Chris is an award-winning reporter with over a decade of experience covering the video game industry. He was formerly news editor at Game Developer and is currently the founder and editor of this resplendent website.
