The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
In recent days, the Digital Fairness Act (DFA) has been making noise across the EU — a new initiative meant to make the digital economy “fairer.” But as always, regulation cuts both ways.
Players should be able to choose exactly how much currency they buy — no problem! One crystal now costs €1: buy as many as you need or grab a pack of 100 for €2.
All prices must be displayed in real‑world money. Great! The item can be earned for free via a timer — but the timer can be skipped with crystals. One crystal equals €1, meaning the “free” item now costs €1000, even though its offer price is just €5.
Refunds must be guaranteed, and purchased items or currency can’t be deleted? Easy! Offer chain: a player buys five crystals for €5 in the first deal, then clicks through the rest as “free bonuses.”
The law demands transparency, but in practice players may face refund confusion, new price anchors, and even more complexity in understanding value. Formally everything is fair — yet UX friction grows, and the perception of cost becomes even blurrier.
Will this lead to a full rework of free‑to‑play projects, or just another wave of creative workarounds?
Full text of the initiative
In recent days, the Digital Fairness Act (DFA) has been making noise across the EU — a new initiative meant to make the digital economy “fairer.” But as always, regulation cuts both ways.
Players should be able to choose exactly how much currency they buy — no problem! One crystal now costs €1: buy as many as you need or grab a pack of 100 for €2.
All prices must be displayed in real‑world money. Great! The item can be earned for free via a timer — but the timer can be skipped with crystals. One crystal equals €1, meaning the “free” item now costs €1000, even though its offer price is just €5.
Refunds must be guaranteed, and purchased items or currency can’t be deleted? Easy! Offer chain: a player buys five crystals for €5 in the first deal, then clicks through the rest as “free bonuses.”
The law demands transparency, but in practice players may face refund confusion, new price anchors, and even more complexity in understanding value. Formally everything is fair — yet UX friction grows, and the perception of cost becomes even blurrier.
Will this lead to a full rework of free‑to‑play projects, or just another wave of creative workarounds?
Full text of the initiative