PEGI is re-rating existing digital games with loot boxes to 16, and the changes roll out through October

Loot boxes now mean a 16 rating in Europe, even for older games. PEGI has started updating the ratings of games already on sale: digital-only games currently rated PEGI 3, 7 or 12 that include paid random items, such as loot boxes, are being moved up to PEGI 16, with the descriptor “Paid random items.”

How we got here. In June, PEGI added new classification criteria focused on interactive risks: in-game purchases, paid random items, communication features and things that push players to keep playing. Since then, newly submitted games have been rated under those rules. Starting this month, PEGI is applying the paid random items rule to a selection of existing games too. The updates cover every storefront that uses PEGI ratings, and PEGI says companies will need to update their product listings and future marketing.

”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,” PEGI director Dirk Bosmans said in the announcement.

It’s already happening. According to GamesIndustry.biz, Games Rating Authority policy manager Connor Hinde said the GRA, which runs PEGI in the UK, began applying the new criteria to existing digital games last week. The changes will keep rolling out through October, and they apply whether a game was first rated through PEGI’s Classic process or the IARC system used by many digital storefronts. The GRA admitted a lot of ratings will change in a short time, and pointed publishers with questions to the PEGI Helpdesk.

Not in North America. Back in March the ESRB said it would not adopt PEGI’s changes, saying they “could be confusing.” So US store pages won’t see the same jump.

PPR take: Expect some familiar free-to-play and mobile games to suddenly show a 16 on European store pages this month, even though nothing in the game changed. For parents it’s a clearer warning label. For publishers it’s a push to rethink random paid rewards, or live with the higher rating.