In the Bonus Level track at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2015, games lawyer Jas Purewal spoke about the legal scrutiny coming to the free-to-play business model.
He pointed to three main reasons that regulators in the UK, Germany and the EU are looking more closely at the industry.
- The increasing use of mobile games and apps by children
- The triumph of the F2P business model, and the
- Perceived need to protect consumers in the online world.
As for those all-important legal tips, they're listed below.
You can also see Purewal's presentation and slidedeck.
- 1. Is your game really "free"?
- 2. Tighten your App Store page description
- 3. Use T&Cs and have a privacy policy
- 4. Give users direct contact to the developers
- 5. Consider gating your games with a warning splash screen the first time they launch
- 6. Process your IAPs in your game's store not in the game itself
- 7. Give users the ability to select No to any retail prompts
- 8. Your offers should be clean, not aggressive, and not misleading
- 9. Make sure you provide alternative ways of acquiring paid content
- 10. Be very careful regarding children.
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You can see all our Pocket Gamer Connects London 2015 footage here.