Europe's age-rating board PEGI has started enforcing a rule it first announced in March: games with "paid random items" (loot boxes, cases and similar paid mechanics) now get a minimum rating of PEGI 16.
What is changing
- PEGI policy manager Connor Hinde says that existing digital-only games rated PEGI 3, 7 or 12 that include paid random items will be re-rated to PEGI 16 – Paid random items.
- Some changes are already live. According to PocketGamer.biz, Pokémon TCG Pocket and Fire Emblem Heroes are now rated 16.
- PEGI warns that a lot of re-ratings will happen in a short time and points publishers to its helpdesk.
- Other ideas from the March proposal, like battle passes defaulting to PEGI 12 and NFT/blockchain games getting PEGI 18, have not been confirmed as active yet.
Why CS2 players should care
Rock Paper Shotgun used a CS2 case as the image for this story, and it comes as pressure on Valve keeps growing. Belgium has treated paid loot boxes as gambling since 2018, and New York's attorney general sued Valve in 2026 to have loot boxes classified as gambling. Valve has moved to dismiss that case.
For players, nothing changes in-game today. But it shows where European regulation is going: case-opening is now being treated as something for older players.
What do you think: should cases stay, or should Valve move to direct skin sales? Let us know below.
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Source: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/games-with-loot-boxes-and-other-paid-random-items-re-rated-pegi-16-as-new-rules-come-into-force-hopefully-cutting-down-on-kids-gambling-somewhat