Every game is about to get a loot box warning label

The Entertainment Software Rating Board wants to protect kids, inform parents, and keep their partners rolling in revenue. To that end, the ESRB is proposing a special box label warning customers that a game may have in-game purchases. ESRB president Patricia Vance said the label would be separate from the normal ratings box and content points.

The new label would apply to loot boxes, cosmetic skins, subscriptions, season passes, music, DLC, and in-game currency. Basically, any optional purchase for a game that is done from within the software. According to Vance, the label doesn’t differentiate between offers because parents need simple information.

“It’s very important for us to not harp on loot boxes per se, to make sure that we’re capturing loot boxes, but also other in-game transactions.”

The ESRB feels this is a good first step in addressing the concerns against loot boxes. The organization also does not want to increase a game’s age ratings due to in-game purchase options.