Video games that allow players to buy digital items using real money must now carry a special warning icon on the box under new rules designed to stop children unwittingly spending hundreds on in-game purchases.
The new warning icon — a hand holding a credit card — will appear on game boxes alongside existing warnings for other dangerous content, including references to sex and drugs, violence, bad language, gambling and discrimination.
The new warning has been created by the Pan European Game Information (Pegi) organisation, which provides game ratings for most of Europe, including the UK.
It will appear on video game boxes later this year, ready for Christmas, Pegi says.
Many popular games, including popular football simulator Fifa and multiplayer shooter Fortnite, now offer players the chance to buy in-game items.
Digital goodies on offer include special costumes, dance moves and accessories for your in-game characters, some of which cost as much as £100 ($130).
Children addicted to survival shooter sensation Fortnite, which is free to download and play, have previously racked up bills into the hundreds on upgrades.
Last year, an 11-year-old British boy hit headlines after spending £6,000 in just two weeks on in-app purchases on his iPad.
Pegi hopes its new warning icon will help parents make better-informed decisions when buying video games for their children.
A new icon is set to appear on video game boxes to warn parents and players of in-game purchases (pictured). Popular games like Fortnite feature digital items that can be bought with real money, some of which cost nearly £100 ($130)
Simon Little, managing director at Pegi, said: ‘Making parents aware of the existence of optional in-game purchases upfront is an important first step.
‘Pegi will now make this information available at the point of purchase, so that a parent can decide whether and how they want to monitor or limit a child’s spending.
‘Entering into a dialogue with the child about the games they enjoy is a must for all parents. It will provide them with the necessary context to create a gaming environment both the children and the parents are comfortable with.’
The icon is set to be introduced by Christmas, one of the busiest times of the year for the video game industry, during which instalments in a slew of major video game franchises are typically released.
An Ipsos Mori survey in May revealed that 40 per cent of parents whose children played video games allowed them to make in-game purchases.
Parents largely policed this behaviour with spending limits and supervision, but that has not stopped children occasionally racking up huge bills.
Many popular games, including multiplayer shooter Fortnite (pictured above), offer players the chance to buy in-game items, including outfits and weapons for characters, with real money
Parents across the world have bemoaned their Fortnite-obsessed children’s spending habits since the game launched in September 2017.
One mother, Julie, told MoneySavingExpert in April her son spent £150 ($205) on Fortnite without her permission.
She said: ‘He thought as his name was the user name on the game the money was coming out of his account. Sadly this was not the case.’
Another concerned mum, Jo, said her eight-year-old son had racked up an £80 ($109) bill on their Microsoft Xbox One.
She said: ‘You know what it’s like – we bought the game for my son and he was super-excited and we set it all up as quick as we could.
‘When we put payment details in we didn’t think it could be used in-game… but he spent £79.99. He’s had a ban and lost some pocket money to pay it back.’
Earlier this year, a concerned parent on Mumsnet complained that their son had ‘accidentally spent £80 [$108] on Fortnite’.
The anonymous user wrote: ‘He was literally scrolling through, and press the A button instead of B. It was done by that one press of a button.
‘Any ideas? I really can’t afford to lose £80 [$108], certainly not this month.’