Games With Loot Boxes To Get Minimum 16 Age Rating Across Europe
13 March 2026
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Laura CressTechnology press reporter
Games which feature loot boxes will soon be offered an age score of 16 across Europe, including in the UK, under a host of changes by the European video game scores organisation.
The Information body (PEGI)'s age scores are displayed on video games offered in the UK and other nations in Europe to show their suitability for kids of different ages.
Loot boxes are an in-game feature allowing gamers to buy random mystery items with genuine or virtual currency, however recent research has found they blur the line in between video gaming and betting.
The new scores, working from June, could see games including loot box systems, such as EA Sports FC, receive a much greater age score.
The PEGI system is used in 38 countries to assist consumers and especially moms and dads make notified choices about the games they buy.
Its scores of 3, 7, 12, 16, 18 are utilized to suggest a video game's suitability for certain age, rather than trouble.
The organisation's changes to this system will see video games including "paid random products" branded PEGI 16 by default. It says sometimes this might increase to PEGI 18.
Dirk Bosmans, director of PEGI, said it was "positive" the updates would offer "more helpful and transparent guidance" for moms and dads and gamers.
Emily Tofield, president of Young Gamers & Gamblers Education Trust (Ygam), stated they were a "step in the ideal instructions".
But she included a PEGI 18 rating must be applied retrospectively to existing titles.
Currently the new rankings will only use to games launched after June.
"Without applying the rules to current games the policy will do little to protect the children who are currently playing them," Tofield said.
'Gambling-like mechanics'
Despite issues about loot boxes, no UK legislation manages how and where they appear in computer game.
The UK government chose in 2022 not to amend the Gambling Act 2005 to consist of loot boxes, saying no proof showed a "causative link" to harms.
But assistance released by trade body Ukie in 2023 stated game companies must limit gamers under 18 from buying loot boxes without parental authorization.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) states it bans and removes advertisements which fail to make the clear whether a game contains a loot box.
Dr Ruijie Wang, who led a January 2025 research study from Bournemouth University into the hazardous dangers of gambling on youths, informed the BBC loot boxes were "one of the most studied examples of gambling-like mechanics in games".
"Recognising loot boxes as a risk aspect in age rankings is an important step towards reflecting the realities of contemporary video game design, assisting to supply moms and dads with clearer signals about prospective harms," she stated.
PEGI's brand-new additions will likewise see video games with time-limited systems, like a paid fight pass, now get a PEGI 12 ranking and game with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) be ranked PEGI 18.
Fortnite, which utilizes a series of different paid-for passes, is already ranked PEGI 12.
Games with "play-by-appointment" style systems such as daily quests will get a PEGI 7 rating - but if the systems "penalize gamers for not returning", such by losing material, they will end up being PEGI 12.
Games lacking any method for users to report or block players online will get a PEGI 18 rating.
Freelance computer game reporter Vic Hood stated while the new scores were "favorable", it was hard to see what distinction they would make unless parents likewise took them seriously.
"In reality, it will largely be down to moms and dads to inform themselves on why these changes have actually been brought in and decide for themselves if they consider the games (and their loot box mechanics) suitable for their kid," she said.