Ukie’s guidelines come as a result of the Technical Working Group, a group that was set up in July 2022 by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This was in response to the government releasing its findings from a call to evidence regarding loot boxes that was launched in September 2020.
This was convened due to concerns that young people using loot boxes in video games were effectively gambling underage, as loot boxes often require real money to unlock in-game features or tools.
As such, the Ukie guidelines have recommended that loot boxes are made completely unavailable to young people, unless enabled by a parent or guardian.
“Publishing these shared principles for how the industry approaches loot boxes is a UK first and provides us with a clear direction moving forwards,” said Daniel Wood, co-CEO of Ukie. “The principles will improve protections for all players and underlines the industry’s commitment to safe and responsible play.”
“We look forward to working collaboratively across industry and with others to implement them over the coming months.”
In a statement released today (18 July), DCMS said that it welcomes these developments, with the hope they strengthen player protection measures – particularly in the case of young people.
“The government welcomes this guidance which, if fully implemented, has the potential to enhance player protections in line with the objectives set out in the government response,” said DCMS.
The recommended guidelines
In total, Ukie has presented 11 guidelines for loot box use. It recommends that technological controls are put in place to prevent under 18s from using loot boxes unless given permission from a parent or guardian. This must also be coupled with driving awareness around these technological controls.
DCMS specifically praised this recommendation for parental consent in loot box purchasing, and called on the wider industry to tighten up its rules on parental controls.
“We welcome the clear commitment in the new industry guidance to use technological controls to restrict anyone under the age of 18 from acquiring a paid loot box without the consent or knowledge of a parent or guardian,” DCMS continued.
“As part of implementing its guidance, we call on industry to increase and monitor the uptake of parental controls, and to ensure widespread adoption of current best practice of default £0 spending limits on child accounts, applying both to loot boxes and other in-game purchases.”
Keeping players informed
In addition, Ukie’s guidelines suggests that the presence of loot boxes in a game must be disclosed before purchase or download, so the player can be fully informed.
While recommendations like these are unsurprising, Ukie also suggests a number of more unexpected measures.
This includes the formation of an expert panel on age assurance in the games industry, and a commitment to lenient refund policies on loot box purchases that have been carried out without the knowledge of a parent or guardian.
In terms of the lenient refund policy, DCMS said this was an important “backstop” in order to block financial harms from occurring.
“We recognise that, even with these improvements, parental controls and age assurance technologies may not always prevent children from purchasing loot boxes without prior parental consent,” the statement continued. “Refunds are therefore an important ‘backstop’ to further mitigate the risk of financial harms which may be associated with loot boxes.”
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/esports/video-gaming/uk-games-industry-commits-to-limiting-under-18s-loot-box-access/
