ESRB States It Will Add ‘In Game Purchases’ Label To Games

The Entertainment Software Rating Board, or ESRB for short, is the regulatory body that deals with game ratings in North America. While the loot box issue has been raging the ESRB had taken a stance that loot boxes couldn’t have been considered gambling, since people were guaranteed something when spending money. However it seems some pressure has been felt at the ESRB as today the organisation that going forward it will add an ‘In Game Purchases’ label to game boxes and wherever games can be downloaded.

The label will be applied if a game has loot boxes, item packs, bonus levels, DLC, character skins, game currency, and upgrades that require real money to use them. In addition the ESRB will launch a new website called ParentalTools.org that will help parents learn more about managing the amount of time and money children may spend on playing games.

The ESRB also states that this measure is just the first step, and that it will continue to listen to feedback as it looks to improve the ratings system.

Source: Twitter

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From the heady days of the Mega Drive up until the modern day gaming has been my main hobby. I'll give almost any game a go.

2 Comments

  1. Isnt it already common practice to implement microtransactions only after the review period? Seems pretty easy to circumvent, or would the games need re-certification if they implemented them after having received their rating?

  2. This is rather worrying, a rather flimsy response from an organization which relies upon the fees from games publishers to rate their games.

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