Loot box: Germany towards sales restrictions

On 5 March the Bundestag, the German federal parliament, has approved a reform bill that could oblige to assign a rating of 18+ to games containing loot boxes.

The decision came after the German authorities examined the regulations concerning the "kaufenreizen", a broad term for in-game purchase incentives that includes loot boxes and other ways to encourage players to spend additional money during their games, a process that has been ongoing since a study from the University of Hamburg dated 2018 claimed that "gambling" elements have become common in modern video games.

Before the law is approved, it must be ratified by the Bundesrat, a legislative body representing the German landers, so we still don't know if it will pass. The reform project would amend the Youth Protection Act, the law on the protection of young people, which regulates the sale of games and films to minors, as well as that of alcohol, tobacco, gambling.

In 2008, the law was amended to restrict video games with excessive gore and violence, nicknamed "killerspiele", from being sold to players under the age of 18, which led publishers to make changes to the German editions of video games, replacing red blood with black or human enemies with robots, as in Carmageddon.

Such an imposition could also be extended to games that include loot boxes, or publishers may simply decide to release them as is and accept the 18+ rating. Both compromises could undermine revenues in a country that is one of the largest video game markets in Europe, with gaming spending of up to € 3,9 billion ($ 4,2 billion) in 2019.