Overview
- The UK Games Rating Authority has started updating age ratings for selected existing digital-only games to PEGI 16, a rollout that is taking place throughout October 2026.
- Under the new enforcement, titles previously rated PEGI 3, 7 or 12 that include paid random items such as loot boxes will be reclassified to PEGI 16 and given a 'Paid random items' descriptor.
- Observed changes so far include the EA Sports FC series and HoYoVerse’s Zenless Zone Zero, while other games such as Monopoly Go remain under review and may be re-rated.
- PEGI began assessing newly submitted games against these expanded criteria in June after announcing the policy in March, and the Games Rating Authority is asking publishers and developers to contact the PEGI helpdesk with questions.
- The change is meant to warn parents about monetisation risks in digital-only releases and could prompt some publishers to rethink in-game sales or how they market titles to younger players.