Europe’s video game ratings system is preparing a major update that changes how it judges modern games and their online features.
Pan European Game Information, better known as PEGI, says it will expand its classification criteria starting in June 2026. This will apply to games submitted for rating from that point forward and will look more closely at design features that influence how players interact with games over time.
Under the new changes, PEGI will now weigh gameplay systems tied to online communication, in-game purchases, randomized rewards, and mechanics designed to keep players returning regularly, such as loot boxes.
According to the organization, the aim is to give parents clearer guidance about how contemporary games actually function, especially as many titles increasingly rely on live service features and ongoing monetization systems.
PEGI worked with its internal experts to develop the new criteria and also consulted Germany’s ratings authority, USK. Germany introduced a similar framework in 2023 after changes to the country’s Youth Protection Act required regulators to consider interactive and monetization elements when assigning ratings.
“It was incredibly useful to learn from the experiences of our colleagues in Germany,” says Dirk Bosmans, Director of PEGI. “We are confident that these ambitious updates to PEGI’s classification criteria will provide parents and players with more useful and transparent advice that better reflects the overall experience that players can expect from the video games they play.”
How the new PEGI video game age categories will work
Some of the elements PEGI plans to incorporate are already displayed as informational labels. Features such as in-game purchases or paid random items have long appeared alongside age ratings, but the revised system will directly link certain mechanics to specific age categories.
For example, games that include time-limited or quantity-limited offers encouraging players to buy digital content will automatically receive a PEGI 12 rating. Titles that incorporate NFTs or other blockchain-based mechanisms will be classified PEGI 18.
Randomized paid rewards, often referred to as loot boxes, will generally trigger a PEGI 16 rating. PEGI says particularly aggressive implementations could push the rating to PEGI 18.
The system also introduces rules for so-called play-by-appointment mechanics. Games that reward players for logging in regularly through daily challenges or similar incentives will receive a PEGI 7 rating. If a game penalizes players for missing those sessions by removing items or reducing progress, the rating increases to PEGI 12.
Communication tools are another focus. Games that allow fully unrestricted communication without blocking or reporting features will automatically receive a PEGI 18 rating.
Debates over mechanics like loot boxes have intensified across Europe. Courts and regulators have increasingly examined whether randomized in-game rewards resemble gambling. In Austria, the country’s Supreme Court recently weighed in on cases involving loot boxes.
Academic research has also added pressure. A Norwegian study found evidence suggesting links between certain gaming spending behaviors and later gambling activity among adolescents, raising concerns about how monetization systems may influence younger players.
PEGI says publishers will now need to provide additional information when submitting games that include these newly defined features. Because games are often rated before they are publicly revealed, the organization expects the first titles assessed under the updated rules to appear later this summer.
USK says its own experience suggests the changes can have a measurable effect on classifications.
“We are happy to find ourselves once again aligned with PEGI in addressing online interaction risks as soon as these changes are coming into effect,” says Elisabeth Secker, Managing Director of USK. “For us, it has been a useful and successful change: at least one of the new USK criteria has been applied to approximately 30% of all games that were submitted since we updated our system. Around 1 in 3 of those games have been given a higher age rating as a result. The effect of the changes was visible and impactful.”
Featured image: PEGI screenshot via website