Video game ratings target loot boxes with new warnings

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) announced today that it will now label physical video games which sell randomised items in-game for real money. New notice "In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)" will be affixed to games that offer loot boxes or similar items, warning players and parents alike.

In a blog post, the ESRB wrote that the new label "will be assigned to any game that contains in-game offers to purchase digital goods or premiums with real world currency (or with virtual coins or other forms of in-game currency that can be purchased with real world currency) for which the player doesn’t know prior to purchase the specific digital goods or premiums they will be receiving (e.g., loot boxes, item packs, mystery awards)."

Such randomised content can be found in many hugely popular games, including Overwatch, Apex Legends, and Hearthstone. All three of these games have been rated by the ESRB.

Loot boxes have been a hot topic in the gaming community in recent years, with many drawing similarities to gambling. This has been particularly concerning in light of video games' popularity with young, vulnerable people, and the lack of safeguards for those prone to addiction.

"Many loot boxes utilise a number of psychological mechanisms commonly seen in other forms of gambling, including variable ratio reinforcement schedules, entrapment, and ready and constant availability," said Australian senator Jordon Steele-John in 2018.

The ESRB introduced an "In-Game Purchases" label that same year, marking "all games that offer the ability to purchase digital goods or premiums with real world currency." Which, in the current gaming climate, is a hefty chunk of them. However this label did little to address the problem, as it failed to differentiate between randomised loot boxes and games that require a subscription, for example.

The new "In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)" notice will make the issue a little clearer, though it's ultimately still up to parents to monitor their kids online.