Italy Leads EU Consumer Action Over Activision Blizzard In-Game Currency Practices

Italy’s Competition Authority, the AGCM, says it’s leading an EU-coordinated consumer protection action into Activision Blizzard UK Limited and other Microsoft-owned game companies, with regulators in Norway and Denmark also involved.

The action, announced by the AGCM on October 8, is part of the EU’s Consumer Protection Cooperation Network. Regulators are looking at whether the companies may have committed a “widespread infringement” of EU consumer rules, which means practices that could harm consumers in at least three EU member states.

The main issue is how games sell and present virtual currencies. The AGCM says players often buy items like cosmetics or upgrade packs using currencies such as platinum, globes, or diamonds instead of seeing prices directly in euros. Those currencies are still tied to real money, sometimes through multiple exchange steps, which regulators argue can make spending harder to track.

The authority also pointed to fixed currency bundles, interface design that may push purchases, weak parental controls, and limited help when accounts are blocked. It said these practices can be especially risky for minors and players vulnerable to gaming addiction.

The European Commission said on September 30 that the CPC Network had opened coordinated gaming-sector actions against ten companies, including Activision Blizzard UK, King, Mojang, Riot Games, Supercell, Ubisoft, Crytek, InnoGames, Plarium, and PLR Worldwide Sales. The cases are tied to the EU’s principles on in-game virtual currencies and player protections, particularly for children.

For Activision Blizzard, this also builds on two AGCM investigations already opened in Italy over Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty Mobile. Those probes questioned purchase prompts, default parental control settings that allow spending and unlimited play time, account creation consent, and account blocking practices.