EU KIDS Act would ban login bonuses and streaks for all under-18 players
Summary
The European Commission's draft KIDS Act, published September 17, 2026, would prohibit login bonuses and time-based penalties for all players under 18.
The under-18 threshold is wider than the under-15 account limit governing the act's social media provisions.
A persistent world's progression during a player's absence can itself count as a prohibited penalty.
Non-compliant games face fines of up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover, mirroring the Digital Services Act.
"Login bonuses or loss of benefits when not playing for a certain time will often be prohibited for minors"
01
Retention mechanics face a structural rewrite
The act prohibits any feature encouraging excessive use by under-18s, covering daily logins, streaks and time-gated penalties.
For persistent worlds, the test shifts from removing rewards to proving the game does not pull minors back on a schedule.
World progression during absence can operate as an implicit penalty even without a bonus system.
02
Compliance scope reaches nearly every online game sold in the EU
The "online game" definition covers everything from Roblox to a disc release's multiplayer mode.
Only fully offline disc titles are clearly exempt.
Games get a lighter path than social networks: age estimation is acceptable, self-declaration alone is not.
App store age signals can pass downstream to the game with user consent, cutting duplicate verification.
03
Lootbox rules omitted from the operative text, pushed to a later act
Virtual currency transparency and "variable reward systems" appear only in the act's recitals for games, which are excluded from its operative text.
The draft EU Digital Fairness Act, expected before end of 2026, is set to address these questions.
The Commission presented a fully drafted text, which observers read as a push for faster-than-usual adoption.
Each EU member state must designate its own regulator to supervise game compliance.
What this means
For Publishers & Developers: Audit every under-18 retention hook now; persistent-world progression may need EU-specific redesign.
For Investors & VC: Model 6%-of-turnover fine exposure into diligence on EU-facing live-service titles.
Events
Companies
Games
—
Locations
Europe
COMPILED BY GAMES ATLAS EDITORIAL
RELATED ARTICLES
EXPLORE MORE
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!