Genshin Impact publisher slapped with $20 million fine over loot boxes

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Genshin Impact publisher slapped with $20 million fine over loot boxes

Genshin Impact publisher Cognosphere (HoyoVerse) has been fined $20 million by the FTC for allegedly violating a children's privacy law and deceiving players.

Tom West

Published 22 Jan 2025

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Genshin Impact's publisher has been fined $20 million by the FTC for allegedly violating a children's privacy law and deceiving players about "the real costs of in-game transactions and the odds of obtaining prizes." As a result, players under 16 chasing the Genshin Impact achievements will no longer be able to purchase lootboxes without parental consent in the Xbox RPG.

Genshin Impact will no longer sell loot boxes to players younger than 16 without consent

  • The FTC alleges that Genshin Impact has violated a children's privacy law and deceived players about the real costs of its in-game transactions and the odds of obtaining prizes.
  • Genshin Impact publisher Cognosphere has agreed to pay a $20 million fine
  • Players under 16 will no longer be able to make in-game purchases in Genshin Impact without parental consent

As announced by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), Genshin Impact publisher Cognosphere (AKA HoyoVerse) has allegedly "violated a children’s privacy law and deceived children and other users about the real costs of in-game transactions and odds of obtaining rare prizes." Cognosphere has agreed to pay a $20 million fine and to "block children under 16 from making in-game purchases without parental consent" to settle the FTC's allegations.

“Genshin Impact deceived children, teens, and other players into spending hundreds of dollars on prizes they stood little chance of winning,” the FTC’s Director of Bureau of Consumer Protection Samuel Levine said. “Companies that deploy these dark-pattern tactics will be held accountable if they deceive players, particularly kids and teens, about the true costs of in-game transactions.”

According to the FTC's complaint, Cognosphere "actively marketed Genshin Impact to children and collected personal information from them in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA)." It also alleges that the firm "deceived players about the odds of winning particular sought-after 'five-star' loot box prizes and how much it would cost to open loot boxes to win the prizes." The FTC also says that Genshin Impact's virtual currency system used to open loot boxes is "confusing," and that the "marketing and promotion tactics used to entice players to open loot boxes were unfair to children and teenagers."

Genshin Impact's five-star heroes are among the most powerful characters in the game, but you can only obtain them via loot boxes. The FTC's complaint says that the purchasing process "obscures the reality" that large sums of real-world money need to be spent in order to obtain five-star prizes.

In a statement sent to Eurogamer regarding the FTC's complaint, Cognosphere says that the allegations are "inaccurate," but has agreed to pay the fine.

"Animation-style games and shows are well-received by global audiences and players across various ages," the statement reads. "Genshin Impact is a popular free-to-play, anime-style game designed for older teens and adults. While we believe many of the FTC's allegations are inaccurate, we agreed to this settlement because we value the trust of our community and share a commitment to transparency for our players. Under the agreement, we will introduce new age-gate and parental consent protections for children and young teens and increase our in-game disclosures around virtual currency and rewards for players in the U.S. in the coming months."

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Written by Tom West
Tom has been playing video games since he was old enough to hold a controller, experimenting with a number of systems until he eventually fell in love with Xbox. With a passion for the platform, he decided to make a career out of it, and now happily spends his days writing about that which he loves. If he’s not hunting for Xbox achievements, you’ll likely find him somewhere in The Elder Scrolls Online or fighting for survival in Battlefield.