BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation, and 22 member organisations from 17 countries submitted a complaint to EU authorities on the unfair practices of leading video game companies behind games such as Fortnite, EA Sports FC 24, Minecraft and Clash of Clans.
BEUC says its analysis concludes that traders breach EU consumer protection laws. We call on authorities to ensure that traders play by the rules and provide consumers with safe gaming environments.
BEUC’s alert to the European Commission and the European Network of Consumer Authorities (CPC-Network) exposes how the video game industry maximises consumers’ spending by using premium in-game currencies. Specifically, BEUC and its members have identified that:
- Consumers cannot see the real cost of digital items, leading to overspending: the lack of price transparency of premium in-game currencies and the need to buy extra currency in bundles pushes consumers to spend more. In-game purchases should always be displayed in real money (e.g.: Euro), or at least they should display the equivalence in real-world currency.
- Companies’ claims that gamers prefer in-game premium currencies are wrong: Many consumers find this unnecessary step misleading and prefer buying items directly with real money.
- Consumers are often denied their rights when using premium in-game currencies, tied to unfair terms favouring game developers.
- Children are even more vulnerable to these manipulative tactics. Data shows that children in Europe are spending on average €395 per month on in-game purchases. While they are among the ones playing the most, they have limited financial literacy and are easily swayed by virtual currencies.
Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC, commented:
“The online world brings new challenges for consumer protection, and it shouldn’t be a place where companies bend the rules to increase profits. BEUC’s members have identified numerous cases where gamers are misled into spending money. Regulators must act, making it clear that even though the gaming world is virtual, it still needs to abide by real-world rules.”
“Gamers shouldn’t need to rely on a calculator anytime they want to make an informed decision on how much they want to spend. The money they spend should be displayed in real money and deceptive practices must be stopped.”
“Today, premium in-game currencies are purposefully tricking consumers and take a big toll on children. Companies are well aware of children’s vulnerability and use tricks to lure younger consumers into spending more.”
BEUC member organisations participating in this action are: Testachats / Testaankoop (Belgium), Bulgarian National Consumers Association (BNAAC) (Bulgaria); Kypriakos Syndesmos Katanaloton – CCA (Cyprus); Forbrugerrådet Tænk, (Denmark); CLCV and UFC-Que Choisir (France); Kuluttajaliitto ry (Finland); vzbv (Germany), EKPIZO and KEPKA (Greece); Adiconsum and Altroconsumo (Italy), Consumentenbond (the Netherlands); Forbrukerrådet (Norway); Federacja Konsumentow – FK (Poland); DECO (Portugal), Spolocnost ochrany spotrebitelov (S.O.S.) Poprad (Slovakia) ; Sveriges Konsumenter (Sweden); ASUFIN, CECU and OCU (Spain); Fédération romande des consommateurs – FRC (Switzerland).
