The European rating organization PEGI has begun revising the age ratings of previously released digital games that contain loot boxes and other mechanics involving the purchase of random items. Now, such projects will receive a PEGI 16 rating, even if they were previously marked PEGI 3, PEGI 7, or PEGI 12.

Last week, the European rating agency PEGI announced plans to make changes to its game rating system — specifically, it will begin assigning higher ratings to titles with loot boxes. However, their American counterparts at the ESRB are not planning to do the same.

In Europe, age ratings for video games will start to be enforced more strictly. We’ve prepared a detailed analysis of the new PEGI rules, which largely rely on the German organization USK’s system, with examples of games and existing cases of rating increases.

The Pan European Game Information (PEGI) organization is set to make significant changes to its rating system. Starting in June, it will factor in four new criteria when determining age restrictions for games.

The European rating system PEGI will begin to warn buyers of physical copies of video games about the presence of domestic purchases. To do this, a special symbol will be applied to the packaging of games with transactions. The new rule will come into force in the coming months.