A European consumer watchdog wants you to be able to buy exactly as much in-game currency as you need, not fixed chunks

rockpapershotgun.com:

A European consumer advocacy group have published an open letter to the European Union Commission expressing their concerns about video games that make use of premium in-game currencies - aka, make-believe money you can buy with real money, such as Minecoins in Minecraft's Bedrock Edition.

The group in question are the Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs, or BEUC, who represent 44 non-governmental consumer organisations from 31 countries, and have been around since 1962. They're accusing the publishers of Fortnite, EA Sports FC 24, Minecraft, Clash of Clans and others of misleading people - specifically children - with their in-game premium currencies, and breaching European Union consumer protection laws. On a press site that summarises the results of various longer studies, they offer the below broad complaints about the practice.

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.

Companies' claims that gamers prefer in-game premium currencies are wrong.

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 €39 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.

Drawing on European Parliament surveys, Statistia and Steam data, the BEUC note that "more than half of EU consumers regularly play video games", including 84% of those aged 11-14, and that "in-game purchases generated more than US$50 billion globally (approx. €46 billion), representing about one-quarter of revenues in the video game market". They add that of the 50 most-played games on Steam in 2023, 21 featured in-game