PEGI moves games with loot boxes up to age 16

Pan-European Game Information, the rating board better known as PEGI, has begun reclassifying existing digital-only games that contain loot boxes, shifting titles once rated PEGI 3, 7 or 12 up to PEGI 16. The move was reported by GamesIndustry.biz after Connor Hinde, policy manager at the Games Rating Authority, outlined the rollout in a LinkedIn post. The re-ratings are landing sequentially across digital storefronts and will continue through October — the same storefronts where Steam Next Fest opened this month amid a row over AI-made clones scaring indie developers off demos.

The change extends rating criteria PEGI announced in March 2026. Under those rules, any newly submitted game containing paid random items is automatically placed at the new minimum classification, alongside a descriptor reading "paid random items." The same update introduced broader checks on what PEGI calls interactive risks, including in-game purchases, communication features and mechanics designed to keep players playing, according to Inven Global.

What changes for games already on sale

Until now, the new rules applied only to titles submitted for classification since June. The current phase is the first time PEGI is applying them retroactively to games already on sale. It covers both games rated through PEGI's traditional evaluation procedure, known as PEGI Classic, and online titles rated through the International Age Rating Coalition system. As the new labels appear, developers and publishers are expected to update product details on every storefront and to reflect the changed ratings in future marketing material. The Games Rating Authority has pointed publishers with questions to the PEGI Helpdesk, warning that a large number of ratings will change in a short period, GameDev.net reports.

PEGI director general Dirk Bosmans said the board acted "to prevent the consistency of age rating standards from deteriorating over time," since online games "can be serviced and updated over a very long period of time." Older titles that remain popular, he said, should reflect the same standards applied to new releases.

The reclassification also lands amid mounting pressure from European lawmakers. Recent inquiries by the European Parliament into the prevalence of paid random mechanics in titles ranging from blockbuster sports franchises to indie roguelikes have pushed regulators toward tougher treatment of the business model, according to xplog. PEGI's move answers that pressure through classification rather than legislation: the mechanics stay legal, but the games that sell them are now marked as unsuitable for younger players.

Which titles are caught in the net

The highest-profile example so far is EA Sports FC, the football series that previously carried the lowest of the three age bands while selling card packs, according to Critical Pixel. The series will now carry the new classification across European storefronts. HoYoverse's Zenless Zone Zero has also been named among the early titles affected. The timing coincides with a busy release window, as Battlefield 6 has joined a stacked October Game Pass lineup. Some storefront pages already display the updated ratings, and more will follow over the coming weeks.

The new rules reach beyond card packs. PEGI's expanded criteria also treat other monetization features, such as time-limited purchases, as grounds for higher minimum ratings, and social casino-style games can be classified at the adult band, GuruGamer reports. The change is specifically aimed at existing digital-only titles, not at boxed retail releases, a distinction that matters as Nintendo pledges to keep physical games on the Switch 2.

A split with the US ratings board

The reclassification stops at the Atlantic. In March, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the body that rates games in North America, said it would not adopt PEGI's new age-rating criteria because they could confuse users. The split means the same game can now carry different age guidance depending on where it is sold, a complication for publishers running global storefronts and marketing campaigns.

For players, the practical effect will be most visible on store pages and in age gates over the next few weeks. Parents and guardians browsing digital storefronts will see the updated labels on games they may previously have considered suitable for children. For publishers, the immediate work is administrative: updating listings and marketing material to match the new labels, or removing the paid random mechanics that trigger them. The Games Rating Authority says the rollout will continue progressively through October, and publishers with affected titles are being directed to the PEGI Helpdesk for guidance on the new labels, according to GamesHub.