Regulatory issues to keep an eye on in the UK and EU

Developers and publishers operating in the UK and European Union face potential new regulations as government bodies crack down on certain monetisation practices.

Speaking at New Game Plus during the London Games Festival, Taylor Wessing associate Laura Craig highlighted potential legal challenges companies should keep an eye on in the coming months.

The EU recently took enforcement action against Star Stable Entertainment over its game Star Stable, accusing it of exploitative monetisation practices, particularly toward younger players.

Issues included ‘just in time notices’, encouraging users to buy now, as well as running ads with influencers where it wasn’t disclosed that content creators were running paid promotions for the title.

Alongside this, the EU also published new key principles to project consumers in games, which includes displaying the real cost of in-app purchases and that game design and gameplay should be respectful of different consumer vulnerabilities.

Craig noted that some clients had been worried about the new principles, but said that for the moment, these are just advisory. However, she said the firm expects more on this over the coming months.

UK regulatory changes

The UK recently rolled out the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. This gives greater rights to consumers when renewing a subscription, giving them a cooling off period after each renewal to cancel and get a refund.

This will create more of an obligation for businesses to remind people when a subscription is coming to an end.

“It’s another regulatory burden to think about,” said Craig.

Meanwhile, there’s also a new online safety act coming into force in the UK, enforced by Ofcom, aimed at tackling bullying and harmful content online.

Particularly for games targeted at younger users, this will mean developers have to put a greater emphasis on moderation, while there’s also an obligation to carry out a risk assessment for players.