The Pan European Game Information (or PEGI for short) ratings system is officially getting a massive overhaul in an effort to target microtransactions, loot boxes, and mechanics that reward logging in for daily quests.
It'll no doubt prove a huge blow to the likes of EA, which puts a lot of emphasis on it's 'Ultimate Team' mode for EA SPORTS FC 26. The series, which utilises extensive in-app purchases for the blind-bag card packs, has been rated PEGI 3 for as long as we can remember. Now, under the new rules, it's likely that future EA Sports FC titles will be rated at least PEGI 16.
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Meanwhile, games that utilise NFTs will automatically be PEGI 18, as will games that include completely unrestricted communication features. Titles that offer 'play-by-appointment' mechanics – that is, features that reward daily logins – will be PEGI 7 unless they actually punish the player for not logging in, in which case they will be PEGI 12.
Here's a look at how PEGI describes its new rules:
Purchases of in-game content: games with time-limited or quantity-limited offers will be classified with a PEGI 12, games with NFTs or blockchain-related mechanisms will be PEGI 18.
Paid random items: the default rating will be PEGI 16 if the game contains paid random items (and in some cases they can be a PEGI 18).
Play-by-appointment: mechanisms that reward returning to the game (e.g. daily quests) will get a PEGI 7. If these mechanisms punish players for not returning (e.g. by losing content or reducing progress) they will become PEGI 12.
Safe online gameplay: if games contain entirely unrestricted communication features (e.g. no blocking or reporting), they will be PEGI 18.
Frankly, this is great news, as we'd argue that mechanics like this have been ignored for far too long by the likes of PEGI. It'll undoubtedly hurt sales of big titles like EA Sports, for sure, but perhaps that's the best outcome if it means protecting younger audiences from the potential dangers of loot boxes and microtransactions.
The new rules will be enforced from June 2026, so it's likely that this year's EA Sports FC 27 will come carrying a PEGI 16 age rating.