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Video game transparency rules in Italy and the EU require publishers and sellers to give consumers clear, material information about a game’s price, features and paid in-game content, and prohibit misleading or aggressive commercial practices. That means paid random items should be disclosed and their odds explained, “free” claims must not conceal purchases needed for reasonably expected play, and games must not directly urge children to buy add-ons. These are consumer-protection rules applied to games—not a single EU loot-box law—and they do not generally require publishers to keep every discontinued game playable.
What laws set the rules for video games in Italy and the EU?
The core rules come from general consumer law. At EU level, the Consumer Rights Directive and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive provide the framework for information about purchases and protection against unfair marketing. Italy implements and supplements that framework through its Consumer Code, Legislative Decree 206/2005. The Italian Competition Authority’s overview of the Consumer Code describes its coverage of consumer information, unfair commercial practices, contracts and consumer rights.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11The European Commission has explained how those general rules apply to video games, including loot boxes, in its 2021 guidance on the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and its 2022 letter on paid random content. Those documents are guidance and interpretation, not a separate EU statute that bans loot boxes or establishes a complete game-specific code. The relevant question is whether a particular game or offer meets the existing requirements in its circumstances.
For players, the practical principle is straightforward: before a purchase, a trader should not leave out important information about what is being bought, what it costs or what restrictions and additional charges apply. The same consumer-protection framework also applies to how games and offers are advertised. The Commission’s overview of coordinated consumer-protection work on online games notes that work addressing virtual-currency practices is ongoing.
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What information should a game disclose before a purchase?
Consumers should receive relevant information about a game’s characteristics and price before buying or downloading it. For paid in-game content, the price and main characteristics should be clear enough for a consumer to understand the offer before deciding to pay.
That matters when the displayed price is not the whole cost. For example, if a purchased item cannot be opened without buying a separate key or paying another required charge, the additional cost may be material to the transaction. The Commission’s 2022 letter to the video-game industry warns against obscuring the real cost of in-game digital content, including necessary additional charges.
Virtual currency can make the real-money price harder to see. The Consumer Protection Cooperation Network’s principles call for transparent pricing and pre-contract information, and identify hidden costs and practices that force consumers to purchase virtual currency as concerns. A player should be able to understand the money cost of an offer rather than having to infer it from an unfamiliar currency balance or a bundle that requires buying more currency than the item costs. The principles also say businesses should respect consumers’ withdrawal rights; they do not mean that every digital purchase can automatically be cancelled in every circumstance.
Whether a transaction involves a direct euro price or virtual currency, whether an item is cosmetic or affects gameplay, and whether a purchase is fixed-content or random can all affect what information is material. None of those categories is automatically unlawful by itself. The practical test is whether relevant price and product information is clear and whether the overall presentation misleads or pressures consumers.
Are loot boxes legal in Italy?
There is no blanket EU or Italian prohibition on loot boxes in the sources cited here. Paid random content can, however, raise consumer-law issues if its presence, price, odds or marketing are not presented clearly, or if the sales approach is misleading or aggressive.
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The Commission’s guidance covers paid random items such as loot boxes, card packs and prize wheels. It says their presence should be clearly disclosed when advertising a game and that specific in-game offers should explain the probability of receiving a random item. That guidance interprets existing consumer-protection duties; it is not a universal rule that every random reward, including one earned without payment, is a loot box covered by those same disclosure principles.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsOdds information is relevant to the specific offer, not merely to the general fact that a game contains random content. A player considering one offer needs to understand the chance of receiving an item from that offer. The Commission’s 2021 guidance on the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and its 2022 industry letter set out this approach.
Disclosure is not the only issue. The Commission’s 2022 letter also cautions against manipulative pressure such as pervasive nagging, visual or acoustic pressure, and timed offers presented during critical gameplay moments. Whether a particular prompt or offer crosses the line depends on how it operates and the surrounding facts; the existence of a countdown or purchase prompt alone does not establish a violation.
Can a free-to-play game be advertised as free if it has in-game purchases?
A game should not be advertised as “free” if it is not free in its entirety or if consumers cannot play it in a way they can reasonably expect without in-app purchases. The issue is not simply whether optional paid items exist: it is whether the “free” claim gives a misleading impression about what the consumer gets or what spending is needed for expected play.
That distinction matters because a free download may still include paid content. A clear presentation should not hide the existence of in-game purchases where that information is material to a consumer deciding to download or play. If meaningful play as reasonably expected depends on spending, describing the game as free may be misleading under the Commission’s UCPD guidance. A game with optional add-ons is not automatically barred from using a free claim; the claim must be accurate in context and not mask material costs or limitations.
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Paid content also includes more than random boxes. Fixed purchases, currency bundles and other add-ons may raise questions about whether the price, main characteristics and any necessary extra costs are apparent before purchase. A direct currency price is generally easier to interpret than a virtual-currency price, but a currency system is not automatically unlawful. The consumer must still be able to understand the real cost and the terms of the offer.
What do Italian rules say about children buying in-game items?
Games must not directly exhort children to buy paid add-ons, including loot boxes. The Commission says this applies where a trader can reasonably foresee that a game is likely to appeal to children, not only where a game is formally labelled as being made for children.
The wider consumer-protection assessment also takes account of vulnerability. The CPC principles call on traders to respect consumer vulnerabilities, particularly those of children. A purchase prompt aimed at a child is therefore different from a neutral disclosure of an optional price: direct urging to buy is specifically identified as prohibited, while the context and presentation of other prompts matter to the broader assessment of fairness.
Parents may also encounter child accounts and parental controls. In its Italian proceeding concerning Electronic Arts, the AGCM reported accepted commitments that included improvements to parental supervision tools. That is an enforcement example, not a rule requiring every game to implement one specific control design. The useful distinction is between a measure adopted in a particular proceeding and a general statutory obligation.
What has Italy’s AGCM done about game-purchase disclosures?
The AGCM has applied the general consumer-law framework to specific game marketing and purchase practices. Its proceedings show how the rules can matter in practice, but a case-specific outcome should not be mistaken for a universal labelling statute.
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In 2020, the AGCM’s proceeding PS11594 examined Electronic Arts’ promotion and sale in Italy of FIFA 19, FIFA 20, Star Wars Battlefront II and Apex Legends. The authority raised concerns about disclosure of in-game purchases and loot boxes, including their presence and cost, and about describing Apex Legends as free without contextual information about in-game purchases. The proceeding concluded with accepted commitments, rather than a general law requiring the same exact design in every game.
According to the AGCM’s 2021 annual report, the commitments included more prominent PEGI descriptors for “In-Game Purchases” and “In-Game Purchases (contains random items),” clearer information before and during purchases, and parental supervision tools. The AGCM proceeding record gives the case-specific context. These descriptors can help consumers spot purchase features, but the commitments do not themselves create a blanket statutory PEGI-labelling requirement for every game.
In January 2026, the AGCM announced investigations concerning Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty Mobile. The authority said it was examining potential Consumer Code violations related to purchase prompts, limited-time content and possible effects on minors. Those are allegations under investigation, not findings that either game violated the law. The AGCM announcement is the source for the status described here.
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EU law does not impose a general duty to keep every game playable indefinitely after commercial supply ends, and the cited Commission communication identifies no specific minimum period for which a digital game must be supplied. That does not mean every shutdown is automatically lawful: a publisher’s contract, promises and the circumstances of the discontinuation can still matter.
The European Commission’s 2026 communication on the Stop Destroying Videogames initiative says EU consumer law provides transparency, conformity and remedies, but does not set a general game-preservation obligation. Ending supply may create an information duty if that fact could affect a consumer’s transactional decision—for example, a decision to make further in-game purchases. Remedies can depend on whether ending supply fails to meet the contract or reasonable consumer expectations.
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The communication does not envisage an EU legislative initiative requiring publishers to keep all games playable. It says the Commission plans stakeholder exchanges by the end of 2026 about a possible industry-led code. The 2026 Commission communication reflects the position stated in that document; it should not be read as a promise that no later policy or legal change will occur.
How should players assess a game’s purchase disclosures?
When evaluating an offer, separate what the game sells from how it presents the sale. These questions help identify the consumer-protection issues without assuming that a particular monetization model is automatically illegal:
- Is the reward random or fixed? For a paid random offer, look for a clear notice that random content is present and probabilities for the specific offer. A fixed-content purchase raises different questions about what the item includes and its price.
- Can you see the real-money cost? Check whether a displayed virtual-currency price can be translated into the money needed to buy that currency, and whether a bundle or additional charge is necessary to complete the purchase.
- What does “free” mean in context? Consider whether expected play is reasonably possible without purchases, not merely whether the download itself costs nothing.
- Who is the offer likely to reach? A game likely to appeal to children raises particular concerns about direct purchase exhortations and vulnerability.
- Is the game an ongoing service? Check the actual terms and any relevant statements about continued supply. A shutdown does not itself prove a breach, but a promise or the effect on further purchases can be relevant.
These are practical reading questions, not a substitute for an authority’s assessment of a specific game, advertisement or transaction. The legal analysis depends on the offer as a whole, the information available before purchase and the expectations created for consumers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do PEGI in-game purchase labels have to appear on every game sold in Italy?
The cited AGCM case included commitments to use more prominent PEGI purchase descriptors, including a descriptor for random items. That case-specific outcome is not evidence of a universal statutory requirement that every Italian game carry those exact labels.
Does the EU require one standard odds format for every loot box?
The Commission guidance calls for an explanation of the probabilities for specific paid random offers, but the sources here do not establish a single mandatory presentation format. The disclosure still needs to make the relevant chance understandable to consumers.
Can a game offer limited-time purchases without breaking the rules?
A time limit is not automatically unlawful. The Commission has cautioned against pressure tactics such as timed offers in critical gameplay moments, while Italy’s 2026 investigations include limited-time content among matters being examined; those investigations have not established a violation.
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Do the 2026 Italian game investigations mean the companies have been found guilty?
No. The AGCM’s January 2026 announcement opened investigations into potential violations. An investigation is not a final infringement decision, and the announcement should not be treated as one.
