After months of controversy, the response of the ESRB to the rampant business model of microtransactions arrives, defined in technical jargon as in-game purchases or in-app depending on the type of platform.

The institution responsible for the classification of video games has indeed announced the arrival of a label to distinguish the games that include them and adequately inform both users and, in the case of minors, their parents.

In a note, ESRB explains that the new label will be “for games with in-game offers for the purchase of digital goods or premium proposals with real-world currency”.

This “includes but is not limited to bonus levels, skins, surprise items (such as item packs, loot boxes, mysterious prizes), music, virtual coins and other in-game currency forms, subscriptions, season passes and upgrades (for example, disabling advertising) “.

In addition, the institution will launch a program to help parents adequately monitor their children if they have a console in their home.

The action was deemed necessary after the intervention of numerous political figures in different parts of the world, and in particular after the move by a Hawaiian deputy to propose a ban on the sale of securities with microtransactions to minors under the age of 21.

An update on in-game purchases from your friends at ESRB: pic.twitter.com/pqmfJe0Ywz†“ESRB (@ESRBRatings) February 27, 2018

Source: Polygon