Genshin Impact agrees to pay a $20M fine to the FTC and halt gacha sales to players under 16

    
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Regular players of Genshin Impact already know that in order to add characters to the roster, they’re going to have to buy currency to spend on gacha pulls, but the methods that drive sales of that currency has earned the game and developer Hoyoverse a $20M fine to the US Federal Trade Commission and the stop of gacha sales to minors.

The fine comes as a result of a complaint that accuses Hoyoverse of using dark pattern tactics and a “challenging and confusing” virtual currency system to entice players into paying for the chance at five-star character through its gacha banners. The studio was also accused of gathering personal data of younger users in violation of the US’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule.

As a result, Hoyoverse has to both pay the $20M fine to settle the complaint and block the sale of virtual currency to users that are under 16 unless they get a parent’s permission.

Genshin Impact deceived children, teens, and other players into spending hundreds of dollars on prizes they stood little chance of winning,” said FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection director Samuel Levine. “Companies that deploy these dark-pattern tactics will be held accountable if they deceive players, particularly kids and teens, about the true costs of in-game transactions.”

Word of this settlement was first shared to Bloomberg by anonymous sources who claim that both the FTC and the Chinese game studio were nearing the end of negotiations related to its monetization model. Initial reports indicated that there was going to be a rebate paid to players, but that does not appear to be the case.

Hoyoverse has also issued a statement:

“Animation-style games and shows are well-received by global audiences and players across various ages. Genshin Impact is a popular free-to-play, anime-style game designed for older teens and adults. While we believe many of the FTC’s allegations are inaccurate, we agreed to this settlement because we value the trust of our community and share a commitment to transparency for our players. Under the agreement, we will introduce new age-gate and parental consent protections for children and young teens and increase our in-game disclosures around virtual currency and rewards for players in the U.S. in the coming months.”

sources: FTC.gov, Bloomberg via GameSpot. This article was amended afyter publication to add Hoyoverse’s statement.
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