FTC says Genshin Impact 'deceived children' and orders its publisher to pay a $20 million fine and stop selling loot boxes to kids
Genshin Impact publisher Cognosphere (another name for HoYoverse) has agreed to pay a $20 million fine and will block children under the age of 16 from making in-game purchases without parental consent in settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission over allegations that it violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and «deceived children and other users about the real costs of in-game transactions and odds of obtaining rare prizes.»
Although Cognosphere has accepted the fine, it says that «many of the FTC's allegations are inaccurate.»
A complaint filed by the US Department of Justice alleged that Cognosphere—operated as HoYoverse in the US—«actively marketed» Genshin Impact to children and collected personal information from them in violation of COPPA rules, deceived players about the odds and costs of winning prizes in loot boxes, and uses a «challenging and confusing» purchasing system that «misleads consumers about the amount of money that players spend on loot boxes on an ongoing basis, and the amount of money that players would likely need to spend to obtain certain prizes.»
«Genshin Impact deceived children, teens, and other players into spending hundreds of dollars on prizes they stood little chance of winning,» said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. «Companies that deploy these dark-pattern tactics will be held accountable if they deceive players, particularly kids and teens, about the true costs of in-game transactions.»
Dark patterns, also called dark design, is a term for elements of a UI that are purposely designed to be deceptive, typically with the goal of tricking users into doing things unintentionally—buying stuff, mostly. It's a growing concern in the videogame industry: In 2022, Epic Games reached a $520 million settlement with the FTC over a complaint that included allegations of dark pattern usage in Fortnite, and attorney Eric Weiss told PC Gamer in 2024 that game makers should be
