European Consumer Organization alleges game companies including Activision, Electronic Arts, Epic, and Ubisoft are 'tricking' consumers with premium in-game currencies

The European Consumer Organization, along with 22 member organizations from 17 countries, has filed a complaint with the authorities who enforce EU consumer protection laws accusing Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Ubisoft, and other major game companies of "purposefully tricking consumers" with in-game currencies that are "used to confuse and disconnect consumers from the real value of their in-game spending."

"In the past years, videogame companies have adopted business models relying significantly on in-game purchases made through premium virtual currencies purchased with euros (or other local currencies)," BEUC director general Agustín Reyna said in a letter sent to the CPC-Network (via Reuters). "Based on our analysis and the accompanying evidence (in attachments), we have strong reasons to believe that consumers may fall prey to several deceptive practices when buying premium virtual currencies, and that the latter are essentially used to confuse and disconnect consumers from the real value of their in-game spending.

"We therefore take the view that the concerned traders fail to provide consumers—and especially children—with safe online environments fully complying with EU consumer rules."

The complaint targets Microsoft-owned Activision Blizzard and Mojang Studios, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Roblox Corporation, Tencent-owned Supercell, and Ubisoft. It also claims that the rising misuse of virtual currencies is "particularly worrying" because it's going beyond the boundaries of videogames and into social media platforms like TikTok and Twitch, and online marketplaces like Amazon.

The complaint turns on four major points:

• That consumers cannot see the real cost of in-game items, and are thus more prone to overspending
• That game companies' claims that consumers prefer virtual in-game currencies rather than real money are wrong
• That the use of premium currencies are sometimes tied to "unfair terms favoring game developers," which denies them their legal rights
• And that children are particularly vulnerable to "manipulative tactics" because they "have limited financial literacy and are easily swayed by virtual currencies."

"Gamers shouldn’t need to rely on a calculator anytime they want to make an informed decision on how much they want to spend," Reyna said in a separate statement. "The money they spend should be displayed in real money and deceptive practices must be stopped.

"Today, premium in-game currencies are purposefully tricking consumers and take a big toll on children. Companies are well aware of children’s vulnerability and use tricks to lure younger consumers into spending more."

Virtual currencies can obscure the real cost of in-game items in a number of ways, adding layers of "abstraction" to bundling bonus currency into higher-priced packages and actively encouraging overspending. A separate report filed today by the Norwegian Consumer Council, cited by BEUC, said a Fortnite battle pass costs 950 V-bucks, but the smallest bundle of V-bucks available for purchase is 1,000: "There are no in-game items that cost 50 V Bucks, so unless the player purchases additional bundles, they will not be able to spend the entirety of the purchased premium currency."

Aside from the general immorality of the whole thing, BEUC said in its letter that it suspects at least some of the virtual currency practices in videogames constitute "several widespread infringements" of EU directives, including the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the Consumer Rights Directive, and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive, as well as various individual national regulations.

"We call on the CPC-Network to stop the unfair practices highlighted in this alert and to ensure that the rights of consumers—especially those of young ones—are fully respected," it said.

BEUC, whose acronym comes from the French name Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs, is an umbrella organization representing 44 consumer organizations from 31 European countries. Its work aims to ensure EU policies "improve the lives of consumers" in matters including "competition, consumer rights, digital rights, energy, redress and enforcement, financial services, food, health, safety, sustainability and trade policy."

Epic Games declined to comment on the complaint. I've reached out to the other game companies named in the complaint and will update if I receive a reply.