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October 25, 2026

Newsletter

The European Post

Policy • Diplomacy • strategic insight

LATEST
Hungarian Revolution Anniversary Draws Costa To Budapest ParliamentRecycling Claims On Plastic Bottles Face Tighter EU ScrutinyCommission Scraps Solar Glass Duties On Chinese Imports After 12 YearsCommon Fisheries Policy Reform Splits Fishers And Eco GroupsCosta Opens Bilateral Talks On EU Own Resources Before SummitEU-Türkiye High-Level Meeting Aims to Reboot Cyprus TalksStrait of Hormuz Diplomacy Finds Istanbul Before It Finds BrusselsFrozen EU Funds for Hungary Thaw After Magyar ReformsQuality Jobs Act Narrows to One Text as Ministers Weigh InRule of Law in Malta Under Pressure as Debate Splits MEPsNovember EU-UK Summit Tests An Emissions Trading Link And Youth DealGlobal Europe Budget Fight Opens As MEPs Add 25 Billion EurosRoadworthiness Package Talks Leave Odometer Rules To DecemberHired Vehicles Directive Delay Sends Bulgaria To CourtTax Information Exchange Penalties Too Low In Five StatesState Liability Row Returns Spain To Luxembourg JudgesSpace Threat Response Architecture Widens To Cover Member StatesExtended Producer Responsibility Eases For Small Packaging FirmsBrussels Tests A South Caucasus Peace Package Built On ConnectivityEU-China Trade Talks Yield Rare Earth Licences And A Hybrid Car DealHungarian Revolution Anniversary Draws Costa To Budapest ParliamentRecycling Claims On Plastic Bottles Face Tighter EU ScrutinyCommission Scraps Solar Glass Duties On Chinese Imports After 12 YearsCommon Fisheries Policy Reform Splits Fishers And Eco GroupsCosta Opens Bilateral Talks On EU Own Resources Before SummitEU-Türkiye High-Level Meeting Aims to Reboot Cyprus TalksStrait of Hormuz Diplomacy Finds Istanbul Before It Finds BrusselsFrozen EU Funds for Hungary Thaw After Magyar ReformsQuality Jobs Act Narrows to One Text as Ministers Weigh InRule of Law in Malta Under Pressure as Debate Splits MEPsNovember EU-UK Summit Tests An Emissions Trading Link And Youth DealGlobal Europe Budget Fight Opens As MEPs Add 25 Billion EurosRoadworthiness Package Talks Leave Odometer Rules To DecemberHired Vehicles Directive Delay Sends Bulgaria To CourtTax Information Exchange Penalties Too Low In Five StatesState Liability Row Returns Spain To Luxembourg JudgesSpace Threat Response Architecture Widens To Cover Member StatesExtended Producer Responsibility Eases For Small Packaging FirmsBrussels Tests A South Caucasus Peace Package Built On ConnectivityEU-China Trade Talks Yield Rare Earth Licences And A Hybrid Car Deal

Nine Games Companies Face EU Scrutiny Over In-Game Virtual Currencies

Arber Zeneli
Regulatory Affairs Reporter, Consumer Protection

Brussels: EU consumer authorities have opened coordinated action against nine video games companies over in-game virtual currencies, according to a legal briefing published on 15 October 2026. The Consumer Protection Cooperation Network, which links national enforcers with the European Commission, adopted a joint statement that promises joint enforcement where companies fail to comply.

The action rests on the Network’s Key Principles on in-game virtual currencies, which explain how existing EU consumer law applies to digital coins, gems and tokens. The principles set out seven expectations. Traders must show clear prices, including the real-world cost of the items and currencies players need, and they must not hide costs behind several currencies or confusing exchange rates.

Other principles target the way games push spending on in-game virtual currencies. Companies should not require players to buy excessive amounts of virtual currency to progress or enjoy a game, and they must give clear information before purchase. The Network also stresses the 14-day right of withdrawal, including for unused virtual currency, and it asks companies to use fair and understandable terms.

Children sit at the heart of the concern over in-game virtual currencies. Authorities want firms to protect vulnerable consumers, and they are examining loot boxes and other variable reward systems, especially where children can reach them. Regulators also list dark patterns, aggressive commercial practices and direct exhortations to children among the techniques they will test. In one parallel investigation, they are looking at a single company over virtual currency sales, personal data collection, potentially addictive design, parental control defaults and the blocking of gaming accounts.

The industry has pushed back. Video Games Europe and the European Game Developers Federation issued a joint statement that rejects the Network’s view of in-game virtual currencies as digital representations of value. They argue that such currencies are not bitcoin or cryptocurrency, a dispute that goes to the legal classification on which enforcement depends.

The briefing sets no deadline for the nine companies to respond, so the pace of enforcement remains unclear. It does point to a second track in Brussels. The Commission reportedly intends to publish its draft Digital Fairness Act in November 2026, and lawyers expect the Network’s principles to feed into it in some form.

For players and parents, the practical message is simple. Check the real price before buying any currency pack, keep receipts, and remember that the 14-day withdrawal right can apply even when coins sit unspent. For studios, the warning is just as clear: regulators now treat in-game virtual currencies as a consumer law issue, not a design detail.

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