Hard blow for gacha games: Genshin Impact and co. to be upgraded to PEGI 16 in Europe

Eurogamer has just announced that, from June 2026, games with gacha or lootbox mechanics will be rated PEGI 16 in Europe. How will this decision affect the mobile games industry and the business models of the sector's giants? We take a look.

Gachas and lootboxes in PEGI's sights from June 2026

The Pan-European Game Information ( PEGI ) organisation, which has been rating games according to age appropriateness since 2003, has taken a harder line. Dirk Bosmans, CEO of PEGI, told Eurogamer.

With this decision, PEGI is targeting games with addictive mechanics, such as lootboxes, gacha and integrated purchases. This is something new for the organisation, which until now has only taken into account the presence of insults, violence, sex, drugs or fear.

Four additional criteria will now be used to classify a game in the appropriate age category:

• Expenses such as battle passes, gacha banners, or temporary item shops. These games will receive a PEGI 12, or PEGI 16 if the game features NFTs.
• Lootboxes and gacha mechanics. These games will be rated PEGI 16, or 18 for casino games.
• Online toxicity: all games that do not allow toxic behaviour to be restricted or moderated will automatically be rated PEGI 18. In the UK, these games will even be considered illegal.
• Addictive mechanics: this refers to daily challenges or connection streaks. However, this purely informative criterion will have no impact on the PEGI rating.

Regarding this last criterion, Dirk Bosmans made the following statement:

Some people pointed out that these are features that make the game engaging and fun - this is enriching the game experience similar to a cliffhanger in a Netflix series. So we mostly want to inform parents about this, because there's no reason why we should give Animal Crossing a very high rating. So this is going to stick to a PEGI 7 but it will have a descriptor that explains this. The exact language of the descriptors still needs to be figured out.

Genshin Impact, Brawl Stars... What impact will this have on mobile gamers?

As you'll have gathered, this PEGI measure may affect your favourite mobile games, such as Genshin Impact and Brawl Stars, but also Heartopia, Clash of Clans and, in fact, the majority of titles released on Android and iOS.

So what does PEGI 16 mean for all these titles? For studios ranging from Supercell to Netmarble and HoYoverse, the European market represents huge financial opportunities. Will they have to censor or modify their mechanics to maintain PEGI 12, or accept PEGI 16 at the risk of being blocked by parental controls on Android and iOS?

Protection of minors: Europe shows the way to the rest of the world

Although, according to Dirk Bosmans, this decision is "probably one of the most significant updates" in the history of PEGI, it is not a first. In 2018, Belgium and the Netherlands classified lootbox games as games of chance and banned them.

The question now is: will the ESRB (the equivalent of PEGI in the USA) and Asian bodies follow the European model? We may be on the verge of a major shake-up of the free-to-play model, so watch this space...