'Genshin Impact' publisher settles US charges of violating children's privacy

Washington: Cognosphere, the publisher of anime-style fantasy video game "Genshin Impact," has agreed to pay $20 million to settle US Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company violated a children's privacy law.

It will also block children under age 16 from making in-game purchases without parental consent as part of the settlement, the FTC said.

The FTC accused Singapore-based Cognosphere of unfairly marketing loot boxes to children that obscured real costs and misled all players about the odds of obtaining prizes.

The game was made by Chinese developer MiHoYo.

"While we believe many of the FTC's allegations are inaccurate, we agreed to this settlement because we value the trust of our community and share a commitment to transparency for our players," Cognosphere said in a statement.

The company said it will introduce new age-gate and parental consent protections for children and young teens and increase in-game disclosures around virtual currency and rewards for players in the US in the coming months.