Europe tightens the noose on virtual currencies in video games and puts nine large companies under surveillance

The Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC Network) has launched a coordinated action at European level aimed at nine video game companies to strengthen control over the use of virtual payment objects and currencies within games.

The initiative affects titles of enormous diffusion such as Candy Crush Saga, Minecraft, Valorant, Clash of Clans, Forge of Empires, For Honor, Hunt: Showdown 1896, Mech Arena and Gardenscapes, whose monetization systems will be examined with special attention.

The European authorities want companies to clearly show the real price in money of gems, emeralds, doubloons or other virtual objects or currencies used within video games. They also demand that structures with several currencies or successive conversions that could make it difficult for the user to know how much they are really spending should be avoided.

One of the most relevant points for the industry is the warning against the so-called designs that push excessive purchases. The CPC Network claims that video games do not de facto force the acquisition of paid virtual objects in order to advance or enjoy certain functionalities.

The authorities also require that all relevant information about the purchase be accessible and understandable before making the transaction.

Another central aspect is the right of withdrawal. According to the criteria communicated by the CPC Network, companies must inform that in certain transactions carried out within video games there is a period of 14 days to withdraw from the purchase, including the refund of unused virtual objects. The terms and conditions must also be clear and fair for players.

The protection of minors and other vulnerable groups is also at the heart of the measures announced. Companies will have to incorporate adequate protection mechanisms, especially when the users are children or adolescents.

The regulatory offensive does not come from scratch. In 2025, the CPC Network began a dialogue with the video game industry to promote compliance with a series of principles on virtual paid objects. According to the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030, that process did not produce satisfactory results, so a market analysis was subsequently carried out that led to the selection of the nine video games that are now under scrutiny.

The affected companies are Crytek, InnoGames, King.com Operations, Mojang, Plarium Europe, PLR Worldwide Sales, Riot Games, Supercell, and Ubisoft EMEA.

For the gaming industry, the action is of special interest because it brings the regulatory debate on video games back to the traditional field of gambling: price transparency, design of spending mechanics, protection of minors, consumer behavior and use of virtual currencies.

Although these measures are legally framed in consumer regulations and not in the specific regulation of gambling, they reinforce an increasingly clear trend in Europe: the authorities are analysing with greater intensity those digital mechanics that incorporate payment, reward, randomness, progression and purchase incentives.

The move may also have implications for the debate on loot boxes, virtual currencies and other hybrid systems that for years have occupied the border between video games, digital entertainment and certain game mechanics.

The CPC Network, coordinated by the European Commission and made up of the national consumer authorities of the Member States, has also approved a joint declaration to establish a common approach throughout the European Union on the protection of video game users.

The initiative thus represents a new step in the tightening of European control over monetization within video games and anticipates greater pressure on business models based on microtransactions and virtual economies.