PEGI Raises Marvel Rivals to Age 16 as Paid Loot Box Rule Hits Live Spel in Europe

Following a PEGI notice dated Oct. 6, PEGI has begun raising the age rating of existing digital games that sell paid random items to PEGI 16, and Marvel Rivals has already moved up from PEGI 12 on European storefronts, despite adding no extra violence. That means that, if you’re in Europe, you’ll now see a stricter badge on NetEase’s free-to-play hero shooter, built around Marvel’s superheroes, along with a descriptor flagging the random purchases. For families, the changes are important, but adults will be unaffected.

The notice covers digital-only games rated PEGI 3, 7, or 12 that include paid random items. From now on, these games carry both the higher rating and a “paid random items” descriptor. The rollout includes every storefront that uses PEGI labels, and it applies to games rated through the traditional PEGI Classic process as well as those rated via the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) system.

Why PEGI is revisiting older games

Spel with loot boxes and gachas will now automatically receive PEGI 16 ratings from PEGI, the European ratings board. The change is also applied retroactively to digital games: https://t.co/ueozmudj2J https://t.co/a9SIPg5MXJ

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PEGI Director General Dirk Bosmans said the update is meant to keep old and new titles on the same footing. “Online games can be serviced and updated over a very long period of time. We decided on this update to prevent the consistency of age rating standards from deteriorating over time,” he said.

The move extends criteria PEGI introduced earlier this year, which took effect for newly submitted games in June. Paid random items were given a default PEGI 16 rating, rising to PEGI 18 in some cases. The earlier criteria also weigh other interactive risks, including communication features, in-game purchases, and systems that encourage continuous play.

Publishers must update their product details on each storefront and carry the new rating into future marketing. Connor Hinde, Policy Manager at the Spel Rating Authority (GRA), which administers PEGI in the U.K., addressed the workload on LinkedIn. “We are aware that a significant volume of rating changes will occur within a relatively short timeframe,” he said. Hinde added that publishers and developers with questions can get guidance through the PEGI Helpdesk.

What triggered it for Marvel Rivals

The seemingly innocuous trigger that started the furore was Pop & Win, a balloon-popping system NetEase added in recent seasons. Players spend Units to pop balloons for a chance to win an exclusive skin. The catch was that each pop costs more Units than the last.

But while it sounds like a loot box, it isn’t a classic loot box, because popping every balloon guarantees the skin. PEGI, however, still treats it as a paid random item, and the PlayStation Store listing now shows “In Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)” among its descriptors alongside Moderate Violence and Users Interact. The ESRB label on Marvel Rivals in North America, though, hasn’t yet changed.

From a player’s perspective, not much has changed, with the shift only altering the label. Matches stay the same, with only families and younger players in Europe now seeing a stricter badge on a game that launched at PEGI 12.

Players have reacted with humor to the changes, with some on Reddit joking that the swimsuit and fan-service skins earned the new rating.

What comes next

This is just the start. Marvel Rivals is the first major live-service title to change under the retroactive rule, and the sequential rollout means more games will see their ratings move before the end of October.