Quick answer: On November 11, 2026, the European Commission proposed the Digital Fairness Act. For games, it would ban paid loot boxes and pay-to-win purchases for players under 18, switch paid in-game currencies off by default for minors unless a parent approves, and make every game show the real-money price of items bought with premium currency. It is only a proposal for now: the European Parliament and EU countries still have to agree on it, and it would apply 12 months after it becomes law. Current as of November 11, 2026.
Europe just put loot boxes, premium currencies and pay-to-win on notice. The European Commission’s Digital Fairness Act (DFA), presented in Brussels on Wednesday, is a wide consumer law that also covers subscription traps, fake “only 5 left” countdowns and influencer ads. But games get some of its toughest rules, and the industry’s main trade groups have already called it “game over for the European games industry.” It follows the EU’s September action on in-game currencies against 10 game companies.
What the Digital Fairness Act would change in games
These rules come straight from the Commission’s proposal text (COM(2026) 1100):
- Real prices on premium currency: if a game sells a paid virtual currency (think coins, gems or points bought with real money), it has to show the real-money value of the items you buy with it, in the currency you paid in. The proposal adds that where an exact value can’t be worked out, it can be estimated from the full price you would pay, without bulk discounts or promos.
- Premium currency off by default for kids: in games aimed at or used by minors, paid virtual currencies must be disabled by default for minors and can only be switched on with a parent or guardian’s approval.
- Loot box odds and an off switch for everyone: any paid “variable reward system” (loot boxes, card packs, gacha pulls bought with money or premium currency) must list what you can get and the odds. Every player, adult or not, must get an easy tool to turn paid loot boxes off.
- No paid loot boxes for minors: games aimed at or used by minors could not offer paid loot boxes to them at all.
- No pay-to-win or pay-to-progress for minors: Article 16 bans selling minors purchases that are “necessary or are presented as necessary” to progress or succeed in a game.
- Off switches for addictive features: games and apps built to encourage compulsive play would have to let players turn off things like notifications not tied to their own activity and features that reward playing at set times or punish you for missing days.
Who counts as a minor, and why it matters
The proposal defines a minor as anyone under 18. The bigger question is which games count as “directed at minors.” The Commission’s explanatory text says a product is directed at minors when it has an age rating, such as PEGI, showing it is suitable for players under 18. A trader is also treated as knowing a player is a minor when that player’s account shows it.
That is the part the industry is angriest about. In a joint statement, Video Games Europe and the European Games Developer Federation said “the text treats games rated below PEGI 18 as directed at children” and warned this “risks imposing an 18+ threshold on almost all game features.” Germany’s game association made the same point, saying every game rated below 18 would have its paid currencies blocked for minors by default and loot boxes and pay-to-win banned for them outright.
Fines and timeline
EU countries would have to set maximum fines for widespread breaches at no less than 4% of a company’s annual turnover in the countries affected. For cases the Commission investigates itself under a revised enforcement law presented the same day, it could fine up to 6% of a company’s worldwide annual turnover.
None of this is law yet. The DFA now goes to the European Parliament and the Council, where it can change a lot. Once passed, it would enter into force 20 days after publication and apply 12 months later, according to the draft. Consumer commissioner Michael McGrath called the package “the most significant reform of EU consumer protection rules in more than 20 years.”
What the industry says
Video Games Europe, whose members include Sony and Epic Games, and the developer federation EGDF called the proposal “unworkable, unjustified and disproportionate.” They argue the pay-to-win definition “lacks clear definitions” and “could cover almost any purchase in a game,” and that a near-total ban on in-game purchases for under-18s “strips parents and teenagers of any say in the matter.” They point to PEGI and USK, which started flagging in-game purchases and paid random items this year, and to the parental spending controls already on consoles, PC and phones.
What it means for players
If you play in Europe, the clearest change would be seeing what a skin or bundle really costs in euros, not just in V-Bucks-style currency, plus loot box odds and an off switch for paid packs. Teen players could lose access to paid loot boxes and premium currency unless a parent signs off, and in the strictest reading, to pay-to-win items entirely.
Our take: this is a draft, and drafts this ambitious usually get softer in negotiation, especially the PEGI 18 line. Still, players outside Europe should watch too. Big free-to-play games rarely run fully separate stores per region, so a rule like “show the real price” could quietly spread far beyond the EU if it survives. We will follow it as Parliament and member states weigh in.
Sources: European Commission, Proposal for a Digital Fairness Act, COM(2026) 1100, November 11, 2026 (Articles 2, 14, 15, 16, 17, 35 and 40, recitals 61 and 62); European Commission news, “Making your online experience fairer,” November 11, 2026; joint statement from Video Games Europe and EGDF, November 11, 2026; game (German Games Industry Association), November 11, 2026; remarks reported by Euronews. Image: European Commission press conference on the Digital Fairness Act, Brussels, November 11, 2026. © European Union, 2026, EC Audiovisual Service.
