AI Summary
5 min readIn September 2024, the European Union proposed the Digital Fairness Act targeting dark patterns in digital services, with video games specifically called out. Then a Swedish game about horses—Starstable Online, developed by Starstable Entertainment—became the test case. The Swedish Consumer Agency filed a complaint alleging the game used harmful commercial practices targeting children: direct appeals to kids, FOMO pressure tactics, influencer promotions without spending-risk disclosures, and opaque premium currency systems. The EU's Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPCN) found the allegations largely corroborated, and Starstable now has a month to propose solutions. But the real story is what the CPCN laid out as minimum requirements for all virtual currencies in the EU—and what that means for every major game company.
How premium currency works as obfuscation
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:20) **AAA Games Are in Trouble - EU Targets Premium Currency** - Asmongold introduces a major EU legislative move that could fundamentally change how video games monetize, using the USB-C standardization as a precedent for how EU rules ripple globally.
- 2 (06:29) **Star Stable: The Horse Game That Started It All** - The Swedish game *Star Stable Online* becomes the poster child for the EU's crackdown, as a complaint from the Swedish Consumer Agency triggers a wider investigation.
- 3 (13:00) **The Industry's Worst Nightmare: Refunds and No FOMO** - The proposed rules would force companies to implement refund policies for both currency and items, and would ban limited-time event pressure tactics.
- 4 (17:54) **The EU's New Minimum Requirements for Virtual Currencies** - The host spells out the specific practices now targeted: forced over-purchase, bundling currencies, lack of refunds, and FOMO mechanics.
- 5 (24:01) **Industry Response: "This Will Destroy Gaming"** - The European Game Developers Federation and Video Games Europe issue a joint statement claiming the rules will "deprive millions of consumers access to their favorite games."
- 6 (33:50) **Why the EU Market Can't Be Abandoned** - The host explains why companies like Ubisoft cannot simply ignore the EU, using GDP comparisons to show the region's economic weight.
- 7 (38:38) **The Real Cost: Worse Games and Job Losses** - The host connects predatory monetization to declining game quality, arguing that store mechanics have become the primary design driver.
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Show Notes
AAA games are in trouble Asmongold show for all of his stream highlights, competitions, reactions & more.
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------------ Keywords: gaming community, gaming culture, streamer content, gaming opinions, gaming podcast, mmo gaming
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