Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
ESRB Flagging Games With In-Game Purchases Via New Label
The ESRB has announced that it will soon affix a new label on physical games that feature a variety of paid in-game purchases, including loot boxes, season passes, and DLC. In addition, the game-ratings organization has launched a new site designed to inform parents about in-game purchases and how to enable parental tools to prevent their kids from racking up in-game charges without their permission.
The announcement follows high-profile blowbacks on loot crates, which have included calls from politicians for the organization to more closely monitor those kinds of in-game purchases.
The ESRB isn't flagging loot crates in particular, but they're included in a blanket label, which includes "bonus levels, skins, surprise items (such as item packs, loot boxes, mystery awards), music, virtual coins and other forms of in-game currency, subscriptions, season passes, upgrades (e.g., to disable ads) and more."
An update on in-game purchases from your friends at ESRB: pic.twitter.com/pqmfJe0Ywz
— ESRB (@ESRBRatings) February 27, 2018
Our Take
Considering that virtually every contemporary game features at least one of these types of in-game purchases, it seems like a way for the group to seemingly address parental and political concerns without diving headfirst into the loot-crate controversy.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
