UK Office of Fair Trading publishes rules for in-game purchases

Rules want to force devs to be more honest about game ads and charges

The UK Office of Fair Trading has been working on some rules that app makers will be forced to follow having to do with in-game and in-app purchases. Parents all around the world have begged for help with games that don’t make it clear that a child is spending real money and games that market to kids specifically.

The new rules have now been published and developers are expected to make sure their games comply by April 1 reports Gamasutra. The rules are basic like telling people up front what the costs associated with the game are. The rules also want devs to say what sort of advertisements are displayed.

Another thing that the rules seek to enforce are that the devs say what personal data is required and what will be done with that data. They also have to get informed consent form the account holder or parent before any charges are made.

“Failure to comply with the principles could risk enforcement action,” states OFT, adding that many of these issues are not compliant with the Consumer Protection (from Unfair Trading) Regulations set forth in 2008.

It’s unclear exactly what the enforcement action might include. Hopefully this will help clean up the shady practices of games and developers that often try and trick people into spending real money or clicking ads.