Ilkka's wake-up call for the games industry
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Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen has sounded the alarm for the European games industry: new proposed regulations could kill it.
He’s referring to the Digital Fairness Act, for which the European Commission launched a public consultation in July, ending on October 24th, 2025. The basic issue at hand is how in-app purchases could be regulated and the fundamental changes that could bring.
As Flux Digital Policy director of policy and public affairs Celia Pontin told us: “Regulations around in-game currency could make things worse for players by mandating price statements that don’t make sense for specific games, while simultaneously blocking developers from using approaches that do. Technical changes needed to comply could be prohibitive or even impossible for some developers, despite not necessarily making things better for consumers.”
Clash of Clans and Brawl Stars developer Supercell, historically one of Europe’s shining lights in tech and, stands to be hit hard by any potential changes. As do all other free-to-play companies in the bloc. Publishers outside of the region will also need to comply if they want to sell in the EU.
Speak up
A number of people in the industry are backing Paananen’s letter. Dutch Games Association GM Martine Spaans said the consequences could be far more impactful than developers think.
Two and a Half Gamers founder and UA expert Matej Lancaric warned that by trying to regulate psychological hooks and predatory monetisation, the EU risks dismantling the very core design frameworks that sustain F2P games. He highlighted, however, the conversation itself is a good thing, pushing the need for responsible monetisation.
The mobile games industry, which has a symbiotic relationship with free-to-play, has long been struck by criticism. Some quarters of the games industry will never accept F2P.
One critical factor some critics and regulators fail to take into account is consumers have overwhelmingly voted for these experiences - and that they like them. Early mobile F2P was rightly criticised for nefarious monetisation practices. The modern sector has a much better handle on it. Hundreds of millions of people play and enjoy these games. To simply dismiss the business model of in-app purchases is unreasonable.
Overdue tech regulation
However, the rub is that if an industry fails to give respect to regulators and self-regulate effectively, the hammer will always come down hard.
Publishers and trade bodies sounding the alarm at the eleventh hour, publicly at least - private conversations have taken place - feels a bit late. More impactful lobbying efforts and self-regulation frameworks by these very organisations could cut off these challenges before they escalate. It's worth noting, though, that the industry is a very long way away from these potential changes in the EU.
The context for all this is that tech regulation is long overdue. This is a failure of governments and regulators around the world for consumer protection - and in particular for child safety. It’s also a failure on protecting businesses that have to adapt to a shifting landscape.
But the games industry should look inward in how it engages with government. The trade bodies that represent the sector should work with the developers and publishers to set the standards to abide by - not just cry foul and offer no public solutions to the issues that concern politicians and consumers.
Hopefully Paananen’s letter will kickstart more public debate and increased engagement with regulators so that the worst case scenario being presented isn’t realised.