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Loot Boxes: Legal Pitfalls and Loopholes

Will Bucher  (Associate, Debevoise & Plimpton)

Location: Room 301, South Hall

Date: Wednesday, March 20

Time: 10:30 am - 11:00 am

Pass Type: All Access, GDC Conference + Summits, GDC Conference - Get your pass now!

Topic: Business & Marketing

Format: Session

Vault Recording: Video

Audience Level: All

Done well, using loot boxes to monetize your game can result in increased commercial success. Done poorly, it can result in government bans on your game, fines and, at least in theory, jail time. Will Bucher distills what he has learned in his legal practice regarding the regulation of loot boxes in the U.S., the EU, and China to provide a brief and accessible overview of the potential pitfalls in using loot boxes, and some strategies for avoiding them. Topics include an overview of which countries ban loot boxes entirely, when a publisher needs to disclose the odds associated with a loot box, and what form that disclosure should take.

Takeaway

Audience members will learn the principal rules governing loot boxes in the U.S., the EU, and China, and how to lawfully modify their games to comply with those rules.

Intended Audience

The presentation will be most valuable to those involved in the publishing, monetization, or localization of games, but will be useful to anyone with a basic understanding of loot boxes and game monetization. The presentation does not require any background legal knowledge to be fully understood and utilized.