Today, the agencies in charge of rating games already take into account such important aspects as the recommended age to play a title, or warnings in the event that the game in question contains elements such as the presence of drugs. , violence, or sex.
But … what about other more modern elements that have been reaching the video game over time? Today, we learned that Germany is considering the possibility of legal reform so that games containing loot boxes (also known as loot boxes) warn players of that content in the rating systems.
The information, echoed by Eurogamer, has come through Der Spiegel. And although they initially commented that this reform could force the agencies to rate a game with +18 in case it has loot boxes, the information has subsequently been updated.
Thus, although initially it has been reported that the Bundestag approved a reform of the 20-year Youth Protection Act that could establish stricter age classifications for video games (to protect minors), finally the Bundestag has modified its Announcement on the approval of the reform of the Juvenile Protection Law to eliminate the mention of loot boxes.
How has the matter turned out then? Basically, the amendment stipulates that the age ratings will be expanded to include descriptors for various problematic mechanics, including “cost traps”. The idea here is to indicate the risk if it was not taken into account in the age classification.
In short, it is not clear that finally games with this type of content end up receiving a +18 rating. Although, in any case, there is also no clear confirmation that it will not be the case. Of course, we will be attentive to tell you any news about it.
