Boxed games will be receiving a new warning label to denote whether a game has In-Game Purchases or not.

The news was revealed by the classification board PEGI (Pan European Game Information) and is being added to make sure those purchasing video games know about the potential for microtransactions, loot boxes and other forms of in-game spending.

Digital games are already regulated in this regard (consider the App Stores shift to ‘Get’ and the ‘In-App Purchases’ tag) but physical games have naturally been lagging behind, so its great to see that both are now up to speed.

PEGI managing director Simon Little had this to say about the decision: “Purchase offers within games has become a broad phenomenon, and it is necessary to provide the same level of consumer information on both physical and digital releases.”

“Considering that physical releases are an important part of the market, that was an important gap to fill.”

This is only being enforced in Europe for now but its existence may lead to global implementation.

More information for guardians and players is always a good thing, especially considering the countless horror stories related to in-game spending and the building pressure following consistent loot box controversy in games from high-profile developers.

The new warning icon will be put into place by the end of 2018 ready for the high-profile holiday release window.