EU consumer authorities opened action on 30 September against nine video games companies over how they sell in-game currency, with Activision Blizzard UK investigated separately. Eleven games are in scope, Minecraft and Candy Crush Saga among them.
The rules they are being measured against exclude crypto. A footnote in the Commission’s key principles says so in terms.
What the games now have to offer
The principles were published in March 2025, run to seven, and rest on existing law rather than anything new. Six of them cover clear pricing, a ban on obscuring cost, a ban on forcing players to buy more currency than they need, pre-contractual information, fair contract terms, and game design that respects consumer vulnerability, with children named.
The remaining one, on withdrawal rights, is what matters here. Consumers must be able to exercise a right of withdrawal “within 14 days of the purchase”, under Articles 9 to 16 of the Consumer Rights Directive, and that extends to currency bought and not yet spent.
Why crypto sits outside
Footnote 2 excludes “cryptocurrencies or similar digital currencies that constitute an alternative form of payment using encryption algorithms”, along with virtual currencies as defined in the EU’s fifth anti-money laundering directive.
The reasoning is that crypto has its own regime. MiCA covers it, and MiCA Article 13 gives retail buyers 14 calendar days to withdraw, free of charge and without having to give a reason.
That right disappears, though, where the assets were “admitted to trading prior to their purchase by the retail holder”. Any listed token, which is to say almost any gaming token a player would actually buy, falls outside it.
The inversion
A player buying Minecraft currency is in line for a 14-day right covering the unspent balance. A player buying a listed gaming token on an exchange has no equivalent under MiCA.
General EU consumer law still reaches crypto games, because the unfair commercial practices directive binds every trader. What crypto lacks is the itemised version. Nothing in MiCA names loot boxes, countdown timers, artificial scarcity claims or high spenders, all of which the network is now examining inside games.
The action is preliminary. The Consumer Protection Cooperation Network has said nothing specific has been identified as an issue and no company has been found to have broken the law. Commissioner Michael McGrath said roughly half of Europeans play video games and the industry “must ensure that its games do not expose players, especially children, to harmful or unfair practices.”
