Genshin Impact Dev Settles $20M Loot Box Fine

Genshin Impact developer Hoyoverse has reached a settlement with the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), agreeing to pay a $20 million fine and implement strict restrictions on in-game purchases for minors. As part of the agreement, Hoyoverse is prohibited from selling loot boxes to players under the age of 16 unless parental consent is obtained.

In a statement, the FTC revealed that Hoyoverse "deceived children, teens, and other players into spending hundreds of dollars on prizes they had little chance of winning." Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, emphasized that companies using deceptive "dark-pattern" tactics to manipulate players—especially young users—will be held accountable.

The FTC’s investigation found that Hoyoverse violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by marketing Genshin Impact to children and collecting personal data from users under 13 without proper parental consent. Additionally, the agency accused the company of misleading players about the actual odds of obtaining "five-star" items from loot boxes and failing to clearly disclose the true cost of in-game currency purchases.

The FTC highlighted that the game’s virtual currency system was designed in a way that obscured the real financial burden on players, often leading children to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars in pursuit of rare rewards. The lack of transparency made it difficult for users to understand how much they were truly spending.

Under the settlement terms, Hoyoverse must not only pay the $20 million penalty but also clearly disclose loot box drop rates and virtual currency exchange rates across all its games. The company is required to delete any personal information collected from children under 13 and ensure full compliance with COPPA moving forward. These measures aim to protect younger players and promote fairer, more transparent in-game economies.