Only two of the top 45 best-selling mobile games follow loot box advertising rules, BBC claims

by Danny Craig · 11/29/24, 3:49 PM
Only two of the top 45 best-selling mobile games follow loot box advertising rules, BBC claims
Hasbro

According to a recent BBC investigation, only two of the top 45 highest-grossing mobile games on the Google Play Store clearly disclose the inclusion of loot boxes, which violates UK regulations regarding the controversial monetization system.

The details:

  • According to the report, 26 of the top 45 games on the Play Store are tagged as having loot boxes, but only two of those explicitly state in their advertising that loot boxes exist. The BBC also notes that, while the 26 games are flagged on the store, users must tap a "small information button" in order to see the loot box warning labels.

  • The BBC also discovered that Monopoly Go!, the current highest-grossing game on the Play Store, is one of the titles with loot boxes but fails to mention their presence in advertisements. So far, the title has been downloaded over 50 million times, and Hasbro has confirmed that it has generated more than $3 billion in revenue so far.

  • The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has stated that it will ban and remove ads if it is unclear that loot boxes are available in an app. However, Leon Y Xiao, a video game regulation researcher at IT University of Copenhagen, claims that not only do the findings of the BBC's investigation match his own research, but the ASA's processes take so long that developers frequently ignore requests to comply with the rules.

  • Adrian Hon, the head of fitness game studio Six to Start, acknowledged that the industry has a history of "conveniently ignoring or forgetting regulations that might interfere with their ability to sell to players," which demonstrates "their priorities and lack of care towards vulnerable players" who may become addicted to gambling.

  • Regulations covering loot boxes have remained an ongoing debate in the industry, particularly for mobile and free-to-play games. Because players are not guaranteed a specific item when opening a loot box, it has been classified as gambling in many jurisdictions, resulting in bans in Belgium and the Netherlands. In the aforementioned countries, games such as Fifa have had the system removed, Diablo Immortal was canceled before its release, and it appears that the upcoming shutdown of Pokémon Unite may be related to tighter restrictions.

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