Updated Mar 17, 2026 by Video Games Europe
The majority of children (74%) do not make in-game purchases, a stability trend maintained since 2020.
Among the 26% of children who do spend money in-game, the average monthly expenditure dropped to €31, with 73% of these spenders limiting their costs to €20 or less per month.
Gameplay-impacting items like weapons or powers are the primary drivers of spending (38%), followed by decorative cosmetics (30%) and loot-box rewards (21%).
Parental oversight is robust, with 95% of spending households having established agreements and 63% enforcing explicit rules such as mandatory permission (49%) or spending caps (27%).
Only 11% of all surveyed gamers have purchased real-money in-game currency, and only 4% have purchased loot boxes, with both figures remaining largely stagnant.
The use of two-factor authentication and permission-based spending agreements has increased year-over-year, while only 5% of parents report no monitoring of their children's in-game activity.
The majority of children (74%) do not make in-game purchases, a stability trend maintained since 2020.
Among the 26% of children who do spend money in-game, the average monthly expenditure dropped to €31, with 73% of these spenders limiting their costs to €20 or less per month.
Gameplay-impacting items like weapons or powers are the primary drivers of spending (38%), followed by decorative cosmetics (30%) and loot-box rewards (21%).
Parental oversight is robust, with 95% of spending households having established agreements and 63% enforcing explicit rules such as mandatory permission (49%) or spending caps (27%).
Only 11% of all surveyed gamers have purchased real-money in-game currency, and only 4% have purchased loot boxes, with both figures remaining largely stagnant.
The use of two-factor authentication and permission-based spending agreements has increased year-over-year, while only 5% of parents report no monitoring of their children's in-game activity.