Chinese HoYoverse, the developer of Genshin Impact, has agreed to pay a fine of $20 million as part of an agreement reached with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The company is accused of defrauding children, teenagers and gamers of other ages into spending hundreds of dollars on in-game purchases with little chance of winning valuable prizes.
Image Source: HoYoverse
The commission’s complaint also notes that HoYoverse “misled users” about the chances of winning rare items in the gacha system. According to the FTC, the “convoluted virtual currency system” was set up in such a way that it was not possible to obtain reliable information about the expected costs of obtaining a rare item in Genshin Impact.
It’s worth noting here that the drop rates of all random items or characters (including guaranteed milestone rewards) in all HoYoverse projects are clearly listed on the corresponding page attached to each banner. Therefore, the FTC’s claims in this situation may cause confusion among fans of Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero.
The resolution proposed by the American department will oblige HoYoverse to open the possibility of purchasing loot boxes for real money directly, bypassing the mandatory stage of conversion from one virtual currency to another.
In addition, the creators of Genshin Impact will henceforth be required to provide information regarding the chances of receiving prizes and the exchange rate of “multi-level in-game currency” without any distortion, and also to delete personal information about users under 13 years of age provided without parental consent. The ruling requires approval by a federal judge and has not yet taken effect.