The charges brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission have been accepted by Cognosphere. In addition to agreeing to pay $20 million in damages and prohibiting minors under the age of 16 from making in-game purchases without parental permission, Cognosphere, the US publisher of Genshin Impact, entered a guilty plea to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges. 

In addition to purposefully deceiving players about the true worth of in-game purchases and the likelihood of acquiring rare items, the FTC charged Cognosphere with violating the Children's Privacy Act. Children, teenagers, and other players were tricked by Genshin Impact into shelling out hundreds of dollars for things they had little chance of getting. 

Samuel Levin, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated that companies engaging in dark patterns will face consequences if they mislead players, particularly children and teenagers, about the true worth of in-game transactions.

The other game - Zenless Zone Zero from HoYoverse - is still dominating the mobile market. The project achieved a record of $8.6 million in player spending per day on mobile devices alone with the release of the version 1.4 update, titled "And the Starfall came." The game's July 2024 release marked the previous peak. 

According to AppMagic, Zenless Zone Zero has already generated over $265 million in total revenue from mobile devices. Along with new agents like Hoshimi Miyabi and Asaba Harumasa, Update 1.4 also added new locations, modes, and improved game mechanics, all of which encouraged players to spend more money.

Main image: reddit.com

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