Legal Risks Associated With Changes To The In-game Payment System

For game manufacturers, changing the in-game payment or reward system in the game after the fact is often lucrative. This is not without risk.

Billions are generated in the online gaming market: the majority of the revenue of publishers and distributors of video games such as Tencent or Nintendo is generated through in-game purchases (as recently critically reviewed in ZDF Magazin Royal on 16 September 2022). These so-called micro-transactions now account for a large proportion of turnover, involving billions worldwide.

When changes are made to a game as part of an update, this is often accompanied by a change in the in-game payment system. Incentives are created for players to spend money in various ways. This can involve the acquisition of pure design objects, such as special so-called game "items", advantages over other players or faster progress in the game. This has been met with criticism from many players, as the impression given is that the publishers are