PEGI is re-rating loot box games to 16: what changes and what does not

A football game that was rated suitable for all ages in Europe is now rated 16. PEGI has started raising the age rating of digital games with loot boxes to 16, a rollout expected to run through October.¹ EA Sports FC 25 is rated PEGI 3; EA Sports FC 27 is rated PEGI 16.²

The rule

The UK’s Games Rating Authority, which administers PEGI in the UK, set it out: “Existing digital-only games that are currently rated PEGI 3, 7 or 12 and feature Paid random items, such as loot boxes, will have their age rating updated to PEGI 16 – Paid random items.”³ New games have been judged this way since June: “Since June, newly submitted games have been assessed against an expanded set of criteria within the PEGI rating framework, including new criteria relating to interactive risks.”⁴ What is new this month is that older games are being re-rated too.

It follows an announcement in March that PEGI would tackle loot boxes, addictive mechanics and unmonitored online communication.⁵ The new “interactive risk” categories cover “purchases of in-game content, paid random items, communication features, and features that incentivise players to continue playing.”⁶

Which games are affected

Game	Before	Now	Source
EA Sports FC series	PEGI 3	PEGI 16	Eurogamer, PC Gamer72
Zenless Zone Zero	PEGI 12	PEGI 16	Eurogamer7
Pokémon TCG Pocket	not given	PEGI 16	PocketGamer.biz, via Rock Paper Shotgun8
Fire Emblem Heroes	not given	PEGI 16	PocketGamer.biz, via Rock Paper Shotgun8

More will follow. The Games Rating Authority itself says: “We recognise that a high volume of rating changes will take place over a relatively short period.”⁹

What it does not do

It applies to digital-only games.¹⁰ It does not reach North America: the ESRB has said it will not follow, and rates EA Sports FC 27 E for Everyone, with a note about in-game purchases.¹¹ And so far it covers paid random items only. It is unclear whether PEGI is also applying its other March proposals, such as PEGI 12 for battle passes and PEGI 18 for NFT and blockchain mechanics.¹²

Why it matters

Rating systems were built around violence and sexual content. This is a rating driven by how a game makes money, and it now reaches games already on sale, including a football series that was rated PEGI 3.³⁷ It also sits alongside other pressure on loot boxes: Belgium has treated paid loot boxes as gambling since 2018, and New York’s attorney general sued Valve this year to have them classified as gambling.¹³

For parents, the practical effect is a clearer signal: a 16 on a game that used to carry a 3 says something about how it sells, not what it shows.²

Footnotes

1. Eurogamer: European age-ratings body PEGI begins raising age-limit of loot box games, like EA Sports FC, to 16, 2026-10-20. ↩

2. PC Gamer: EA Sports FC 27 gets a PEGI 16 rating in Europe because of loot boxes, 2026-10-20. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Eurogamer: European age-ratings body PEGI begins raising age-limit of loot box games, like EA Sports FC, to 16, 2026-10-20. ↩ ↩²

4. Eurogamer: European age-ratings body PEGI begins raising age-limit of loot box games, like EA Sports FC, to 16, 2026-10-20. ↩

5. Eurogamer: European age-ratings body PEGI begins raising age-limit of loot box games, like EA Sports FC, to 16, 2026-10-20. ↩

6. PC Gamer: EA Sports FC 27 gets a PEGI 16 rating in Europe because of loot boxes, 2026-10-20. ↩

7. Eurogamer: European age-ratings body PEGI begins raising age-limit of loot box games, like EA Sports FC, to 16, 2026-10-20. ↩ ↩² ↩³

8. Rock Paper Shotgun: Games with loot boxes and other “paid random items” re-rated PEGI 16 as new rules come into force, hopefully cutting down on kids gambling somewhat, 2026-10-20. ↩ ↩²

9. Rock Paper Shotgun: Games with loot boxes and other “paid random items” re-rated PEGI 16 as new rules come into force, hopefully cutting down on kids gambling somewhat, 2026-10-20. ↩

10. Eurogamer: European age-ratings body PEGI begins raising age-limit of loot box games, like EA Sports FC, to 16, 2026-10-20. ↩

11. PC Gamer: EA Sports FC 27 gets a PEGI 16 rating in Europe because of loot boxes, 2026-10-20. ↩

12. Rock Paper Shotgun: Games with loot boxes and other “paid random items” re-rated PEGI 16 as new rules come into force, hopefully cutting down on kids gambling somewhat, 2026-10-20. ↩

13. Rock Paper Shotgun: Games with loot boxes and other “paid random items” re-rated PEGI 16 as new rules come into force, hopefully cutting down on kids gambling somewhat, 2026-10-20. ↩