The European Union is pressing nine video-game companies over how purchasable in-game currencies and items are priced. The companies are under coordinated consumer-protection scrutiny—not found guilty—and the core issue is whether players can understand an item’s cost in real money before buying it, without being pushed to purchase more virtual currency than they need.
Which games and companies are involved?
The European Commission says the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network has begun coordinated actions concerning nine games and their companies: Candy Crush Saga (King.com Limited), Clash of Clans (Supercell Oy), Forge of Empires (InnoGames GmbH), For Honor (Ubisoft EMEA SAS), Gardenscapes (PLR Worldwide Sales Limited), Hunt: Showdown 1896 (Crytek GmbH), Mech Arena (Plarium Europe), Minecraft (Mojang AB), and Valorant (Riot Games Limited).
The Commission says authorities began a dialogue with each company. It describes the practices as suspected issues that may breach EU consumer law; national enforcement measures may follow if concerns are not resolved. This is not a final decision that any named company broke the law, and the announcement does not establish that every listed game uses every questioned practice.
What pricing practices are under scrutiny?
The CPC Network’s Key Principles on In-Game Virtual Currencies, published on 21 March 2025, explain the consumer-protection expectations behind the actions. They address currencies bought with real money and spent on in-game digital content or services; currency earned only through gameplay is outside the document’s stated scope.
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Show the real-money price clearly
Players should be able to see the price of purchasable currency and digital items clearly and prominently in real-world money. That expectation also applies when a player must exchange one purchasable currency for another before buying an item. If an item can be bought with currency available directly or indirectly for real money, its real-money price should be indicated too.
The principles say to calculate that indication using the amount of currency required for the item, without applying quantity discounts or promotions. How a player obtained the currency does not change the item’s objective price. As the CPC document puts it: “Price information is material information, and consumers should be able to understand the true cost of purchasing in-game digital content or services by having its price indicated in real-world money.”
Do not obscure the cost or require excess spending
Multiple purchasable currencies, several exchange steps, and currency bundles that do not match item prices can make the total harder to judge. The principles say traders should avoid designs that require consumers to spend more real money on currency than the selected content costs. They also identify denying a player the ability to choose a specific amount of currency as a practice to avoid.
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Give essential purchase information before checkout
Before a player agrees to buy currency, digital content, or a service, the offer should clearly explain key information. The CPC document’s examples include the item’s main characteristics, the trader’s identity and contact details, the real-world price, withdrawal conditions, the legal guarantee of conformity for digital content and services, and payment and delivery methods. Contract terms should use plain, clear language and should not restrict statutory consumer rights.
Explain withdrawal rights where they apply
The principles say traders should explain how to exercise withdrawal rights and, where applicable, allow withdrawal within 14 days. For digital content to be exempted from withdrawal after immediate use begins, the consumer must expressly consent to immediate performance and acknowledge the loss of the right; that acknowledgment must be separate from the purchase click. The CPC document also flags denying withdrawal for purchased virtual currency that remains unused as a practice to avoid. Whether a right applies to a particular transaction depends on its circumstances and applicable law.
Account for children and other vulnerable players
The CPC document treats children as vulnerable consumers and says vulnerability in other consumers can depend on context, including problematic spending behaviour. It recommends adapting practices to the people likely to encounter them, not only the intended audience. Its recommendations include functional parental controls with age-appropriate defaults, including disabling real-money spending by default in games not restricted to adults. Parental controls do not remove a trader’s responsibility to adapt its practices.
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The Commission has separately described concerns in its Star Stable Online action about direct exhortations to children to buy, time-limited pressure, unclear currency information adapted for children, and influencer-marketing disclosures. Those are concerns from that separate case, not established findings about the nine games in the current coordinated action.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is the legal status of the CPC principles?
The March 2025 principles explain how the CPC Network reads existing EU consumer-protection legislation, including the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the Consumer Rights Directive, and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive. They are non-exhaustive guidance for traders, not a new law or a final ruling. The document says that following a recommendation does not by itself guarantee compliance, and ignoring one does not automatically establish illegality. As it states: “Solely the competent authorities and courts can finally decide on the legality of commercial practices, processing operations etc. under the applicable legislation.”
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallThe Commission reported a workshop in June 2025 that brought authorities, game companies and federations, consumer organisations, European Consumer Centres, academics, and other experts together to discuss implementation. The Commission’s current page says the dialogue did not produce satisfactory solutions and that compliance issues are being addressed through ongoing coordinated enforcement actions.
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This action is distinct from a separate early-2026 CPC action concerning Microsoft Corporation and Activision Blizzard over Call of Duty Mobile and Diablo Immortal. The Commission described that separate action as covering additional concerns, including data collection, addictive design, parental-control defaults, direct exhortations to children, pre-contractual information, and unilateral account blocking.
What can players do if a price or purchase is unclear?
Before confirming a purchase, check the real-money amount, how many exchange steps are involved, and whether a currency bundle leaves a balance you cannot use for the selected item. Save the offer and transaction details if you need to raise a concern. For a cross-border issue involving a trader in another EU Member State, the Commission says consumers can contact their national European Consumer Centre for free advice and assistance, or approach their national consumer-protection authority. A complaint does not guarantee an individual refund or a particular enforcement outcome.
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