Welcome back to yet another roundup of MMO and MMO-adjacent industry news! Today’s bundle features a few multiplayer game-specific tidbits for a little bit of a surprise peppery kick, but we promise it’s the good kind of spicy.
PEGI game ratings will account for lockboxes: The Pan-European Games Information ratings system (aka PEGI) will now account for the existence of lockboxes in titles as part of its games ratings. Games that feature lockbox monetization or similar “paid random items” like gacha are getting a PEGI 18 rating by default, while games with in-game purchases like battle passes will be rated PEGI 12. The changes will apply starting in June.
Root is a new Discord alternative: With all of the rightful concern over Discord’s handling of user data, many are looking at alternatives. Thanks to one of our readers, we’ve been aimed in the direction of Root, which appears to have all of the same features as Discord and none of its baggage, to the point that it calls itself “Discord, but good” in a related video.
GTA Online highlights player-built content: Give players the tools to build their own sandbox content and you’ll very often receive gold, and that’s just what Grand Theft Auto Online is highlighting during its Community Series Showcase. From now until April 1st, players can snag triple rewards as they play through highlights of player-built combat and race modes, plus a cool million in GTA$ just for logging in and cosmetics for clearing challenges.
Creature collecting survivalbox PickMon is unveiled: Lastly we come to what can only be described as a barely legal IP frappe in the form of Pickmon, a multiplayer survival sandbox from developer PocketGame (guys), where players capture the titular Pickmon with cards (guys) and deploy them as companions or base helpers (GUYS). The assets all bear more than some striking resemblances to Pokemon and Palworld, but we also spot Link’s Breath of the Wild tunic and Final Fantasy XIV’s aetheryte too. It’s something to behold, truly.
