The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) has published new guidance on in-game purchases.
In an attempt to make advertisements more transparent for consumers, the guidance covers in-game storefronts, platforms for purchasing games, and broader advertising for games themselves.
As part of CAP’s wider strategy to have more impact in online spaces, the guidance is aimed at ensuring that advertisers know how to avoid misleading consumers about the cost of in-game purchases, whether games contain them, and how they might affect gameplay.
CAP sister organization Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK’s independent advertising regulator, will be responsible for implementing the new guidelines.
CAP’s guidelines state that companies must be clear with users about the costs of in-game goods.
The organization has stated that for the purchase of bundled items, advertising claims should only relate to the cost-per-unit price and not the cost of the bundle.
For time-limited offers, the committee has proposed that advertisers shouldn’t imply that an item is available for a specific time if it will be readily available later.
You can find CAP’s guidelines in full here.