Consumer protection authorities are stepping up measures to safeguard players’ rights

The Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC) has launched coordinated action at EU level targeting nine video game companies, with the aim of strengthening the protection of players’ rights.

Through these actions, the CPC Network is following up on the Key Principles on Virtual Currencies in Games, a set of guidelines on EU consumer legislation that promote transparency and fairness in the use of virtual currencies in games.

Today’s coordinated actions aim to ensure that the following principles are applied:

• Clear and transparent pricing: display the actual price of in-game items and currencies that consumers need to purchase in order to play.
• No hidden costs: avoid the use of multiple currencies or currency conversions that make it difficult to understand the actual price. 
• No forcing of unwanted virtual currency purchases: players should not feel compelled to buy excessive amounts of virtual currency to progress or enjoy the game. 
• Provide clear information before purchase: players must have access to easy-to-understand information before purchasing virtual currency or in-game items. 
• Respect the right of withdrawal: players must be informed of their right to withdraw from contracts within 14 days, including in respect of unused virtual currency. 
• Use fair and comprehensible terms: the game’s terms and conditions must be fair and clear to players.
• Protect vulnerable consumers: companies must ensure that games provide appropriate safeguards for all consumers, including vulnerable users such as children. 

The CPC network has also adopted a Joint Declarationtoday , setting out a common approach to protecting the rights of consumers who are gamers across the EU market.

Background

The CPC Network comprises national authorities responsible for enforcing European consumer protection legislation. Working together and coordinated by the European Commission, they take action against breaches of consumer protection legislation that affect many people and involve more than one Member State.

In 2025, the CPC Network initiated a dialogue with the video games industry to ensure alignment with the Key Principles. As the dialogue did not yield satisfactory results, the Network carried out a market analysis and identified several games that would require further assessment: Hunt: Showdown 1896, Forge of Empires, Candy Crush Saga, Minecraft, Mech Arena, Gardenscapes, Valorant, Clash of Clans, For Honor. The investigations launched today concern Crytek GmbH, InnoGames GmbH, King.com Operations (Malta) Limited, Mojang AB, Plarium Europe S.à.rl, PLR Worldwide Sales Limited, Riot Games Limited, Supercell Oy and Ubisoft EMEA SAS.

At the same time, the CPC Network is taking action against Activision Blizzard UK Limited to ensure compliance with European consumer protection legislation in relation to the games ‘Diablo Immortal’ and ‘Call of Duty Mobile’. As part of this action, the CPC Network is examining how virtual in-game currencies are sold, how players’ personal data is collected, whether the games feature addictive design elements, the default settings for parental controls, direct marketing to minors, the display of pre-contractual information and the blocking of gaming accounts.

 

More information: European Commission