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By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Videogame companies Epic Games, Electronic Arts, Roblox and four others were hit with an EU consumer complaint on Thursday accusing them of misleading gamers into spending money.
The move came amid rising concerns about children turning into gaming addicts, with some parents claiming videogame makers intentionally designed products that caused them to become addicted to games.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and 22 of its members across Europe including in France, Germany, Italy and Spain filed a complaint on Thursday with the European Commission and the European Network of Consumer Authorities.
"BEUC's members have identified numerous cases where gamers are misled into spending money. Regulators must act, making it clear that even though the gaming world is virtual, it still needs to abide by real-world rules," BEUC Director General Agustin Reyna said in a statement.
"Today, premium in-game currencies are purposefully tricking consumers and take a big toll on children. Companies are well aware of children's vulnerability and use tricks to lure younger consumers into spending more," he said.
The complaint also targets Microsoft's Activision Blizzard, Mojang Studios, Supercell, which is majority-owned by China's Tencent, and French peer Ubisoft.
The associations said they were concerned that consumers, especially children, could not see the real cost of digital items, leading them to over-spend, and that consumers were often denied their rights when using premium in-game currencies.
Video Games Europe, whose members include Epic Games, Roblox, Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Supercell and Ubisoft, said the purchase of in-game currencies is a well-established practice and well understood by players.
"Our members always respect European consumer laws in how they offer these purchases," the lobby group said in a statement.
"The PEGI Code of Conduct requires developers to ensure that the real-world cost is clear and unambiguous at the point of purchase of the in-game currency," it said, referring to the Pan-European Game Information code.
Roblox referred to the Video Games Europe statement. The other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Jan Harvey and Elaine Hardcastle)
