In the coming months, there will be big changes to how PEGI (Pan European Game Information) rates any video game. The official body has announced that any titles that feature loot box mechanics will be rated 16 and up, with the specific wording expressing that these changes target "interactive risk" features.
There are four pillars to this coming change to the PEGI regulations, with the first targeting the purchasing of in-game content. Any title that has time-limited or quantity-limited offers will be hit with a rating of 12, but games that include NFTs or blockchain mechanisms will immediately be hit with a rating of 18.
Building on this, the second pillar takes aim at paid random items, i.e. loot boxes. Here, a default rating will be 16, but if PEGI deems it necessary, this can be improved to 18, which is no doubt something the EA Sports FC developers will be paying very, very close attention to.
Thirdly, an adjustment to play-by-appointment mechanisms if coming through, meaning projects with daily quests and such will have a rating of 7, while ones that punish a player for not returning will be hit with a rating of 12.
Finally, any game with unrestricted communication features will be hit with a rating of 18, so perhaps expect more controlled communication elements on games in the future.
As for why these changes are being introduced, PEGI director Dirk Bosmans explains: "We are confident that these ambitious updates to PEGI's classification criteria will provide parents and players with more useful and transparent advice that better reflects the overall experience that players can expect from the video games they play."
The changes will come into practice in June 2026. When they do, how do you expect them to affect your favourite games?