Genshin Impact In Trouble In The United States

Bloomberg sources report that the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been investigating the company HoYoverse, miHoYo’s Western brand, since at least last summer. The agency is examining the gacha system of the game “Genshin Impact.”

According to the post, the FTC suspects that the developers of “Genshin Impact” are misleading players about the cost of obtaining five-star characters. The game makes it difficult to determine the true cost of in-game currency used for draws on character banners, which could lead users to spend money impulsively.

The FTC and HoYoverse are said to be close to resolving the dispute. Under the terms of the upcoming agreement, HoYoverse is expected to compensate American players who attempted to obtain characters through the gacha system, in addition to paying a $20 million fine. The specific compensation amounts are still unknown.

Representatives from the FTC and HoYoverse declined to comment on the information provided by Bloomberg’s sources, but the latter issued the following statement:

SINGAPORE, January 18, 2025 – Cognosphere, the distributor of Genshin Impact, has reached an agreement with the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to strengthen and increase transparency in our practices related to parental consent and virtual currency. Below is a statement from Cognosphere:
“Animation-style games and programs are well received by audiences and players of various ages around the world. Genshin Impact is a popular free anime-style game designed for older teens and adults. Although we believe many of the FTC’s allegations are inaccurate, we have agreed to this settlement because we value the trust of our community and share a commitment to being transparent with our players. As part of the agreement, we will introduce new age verification and parental consent protections for children and young teens, as well as increase in-game disclosures about virtual currency and rewards for players in the US in the coming months.“.

Copyright © COGNOSPHERE. All Rights Reserved.

And of course, the situation did not go without comments:

«I know many other big games that don’t offer cash -> lootboxes, like League of Legends.».
«Isn’t it illegal in certain countries to be able to buy draws directly, since that is legally considered gambling?».
«Hm… I wonder if CSGO faces the same restrictions?».
«All they will do is check an age checkbox. Nothing changes. As for buying currency directly, the ZZZ store already has it».
«And you’re telling me that companies like EA somehow dodged this bullet? Yes, this doesn’t make any sense.».
«I’m sure they’re perfectly fine with loot boxes in EA Sports games. I would even further question how this can even be enforced».
«Are they going to apply this to all gacha games or just Genshin?».
«Ok FTC, now go after all the American games that do these things too. Oh, no, wait, they won’t. Only the United States can have terrible trade practices. I hate gacha and loot boxes, but Genshin is one of the least offensive (except for the constellation system and weapon banners, holy crap, that sucks!). The FTC is only going after Genshin because it’s Chinese».
«Honestly, all of this is nothing important (plus, if they really want to do it, they should aim for all gachas and other predatory games, not just Genshin). But I don’t think it’s a problem. For Hoyo, 20 million is practically pocket change. They will be fine».
«You have to keep those CSGO casinos running, but, God forbid, bet on anime girls».
«If Genshin takes a hit, literally every other gacha that came out in 2020 will be sweating bullets. The violation is that people under 13 years of age can purchase “lootboxes.” Who the hell lets their child under 13 play Genshin? The game is rated for ages 13 and up.».
«And then there are Riot Games, Valve and EA without receiving any punishment. I guess the US is really going after Chinese companies».
«“Prohibited from selling lootboxes using virtual currency without providing an option for consumers to purchase them directly with real money.” This is the key. That means they now have to offer an option for banner giveaways using real money.».
«This is so obviously political and due to the fact that it is a Chinese company. Mihoyo’s gacha system isn’t nearly as predatory or problematic as EA and Valve’s loot boxes. CSGO lootboxes have been a completely unregulated gateway to real online gambling casinos for over a decade. Where is the FTC for that?».
«It’s interesting how the government keeps going after Chinese games and apps… I wonder why».