European game rating agency PEGI is about to make life more complicated for some game developers, as it plans to expand its system later this year with new "interactive risk categories" specifically targeting games with loot boxes, in-app purchases, or unmoderated in-game communications.
Videogame age rating systems were initially established over fears about the presence of sex and violence in games. But much has changed over the past 30-plus years, and these days the concerns are far more insidious: It turns out that Sub-Zero ripping out someone's spine isn't a big deal, but letting him add M. Bison's hat to his wardrobe for just $2.99—act now, because it's only available until the end of March!—well, that's a real problem.
