One of the favorite models used by developers and publishers of video games these days is to either sell the game for a fixed price or give it away for free, but also include the ability to make microtransactions for cosmetic items, unlocking additional content, and so on. This is a smart model as it allows companies to make more money than selling the game once.
Unfortunately, sometimes this can lead to players spending more money than they would normally do, especially amongst kids who might take their parents’ credit cards and spend without their knowledge. So much so that over in Australia, it seems that it has become a requirement where games that are sold in physical format will need to be labelled if it offers any kind of in-game purchases.
There have been many debates in the past regarding in-game purchases for items such as loot boxes. According to a recent report from the NSW Government Responsible Gambling Fund, they have identified a key link between the desire to purchase loot boxes and the development of a problematic gambling habit.
Developers and publishers are still allowed to sell their games as per normal, but these labels are meant to help gamers better identify games that might have in-game purchases and decide for themselves if this is something that they want to support.