According to a study by loot box researcher Leon Xiao, labels noting whether video games contain loot boxes are severely inconsistent.
The study found that 60.6% of games rated by either PEGI or the ESRB contained notation of loot boxes in one region, but not the other.
It was also disclosed that PEGI seem to be more strict on loot boxes than its United States counterpart. PEGI provides a search tool for identifying the age ratings and content descriptors allowing anyone to search exactly which games contain in-game purchases while the ESRB do not have such thing.
One game that was specifically noted in the study was Genshin Impact. Despite being very popular around the world, the game does not contain the “in-game purchase” label on it’s ESRB rating. Xiao noted this to be “highly unsatisfactory.”
