[gaming][EU][from late March, I've been busy ok] So the EU is cracking down on premium game currencies. Games in the EU will now have to 1) let people buy the exact amount of currency needed for an item they want and 2) offer refunds for both items and premium currencies.

The EU was like "Yeah no you let people buy 500 currency and have things priced at 400 and 200, which is clearly just fucking with people."

oh also they're doing something??? about time bounded offers but I'm not sure about that one

I'm not sure if this is specifically only-available-for-a-limited-time or if it is about rate-ups as well.

If it is about rate-ups hahahahhahahahahahahahahahh welp

https://ec.europa.eu/... website

This is fucking amazing

so

companies (or at least the one company that is under scrutiny) will have to list the IRL cost of something on it as well as the in-game currency cost.

Companies shouldn't mix multiple currencies when someone is paying for something (ie, this costs blue prisms and white prisms is considered a way to obfuscate the true price of something.)

Consumers have the right to return items/currency within 14 days in accordance with EU law. (the actual phrasing is "withdraw from the contract" which makes sense since you're typically licensing a product, not buying something.)

The instructions for companies also say that if gaming companies are going after vulnerable populations, like children or 'whales' (yes, they use the term) those companies will be under stricter scrutiny.

Whales are considered a vulnerable population because, the EU says, in the nicest way possible, they at best have poor impulse control and at worst are gambling addicts.

Oh and any game that is not explicitly and exclusively marketed to people who are legal adults will be assumed to have a contingent of players who are children.

They don't give explicit instructions on what parental controls should be in use, but I assume there's an expectation that buying items and currency are gated behind parental controls by default.

Long over due, and by every account SSO deserves all this and more