As part of a settlement between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and HoYoverse, Genshin Impact will require all its US-based players to verify their age by July.
To comply with a court-ordered settlement reached between the developer of Genshin Impact, HoYoverse and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), users who play the ongoing title will need to verify their age before July to comply with the new regulations put in place by the FTC. As part of the $20 million settlement, HoYoverse will require every user to verify their age starting on May 20. This is part of the judgment that forbids HoYoverse from selling loot boxes to anyone under the age of 16 without expressed parental consent.
In a small announcement, HoYoverse solidified the new ordinance in a posting titled “Age Verification Process for US Players”. The post reads “We are required by law to age verify US player accounts. The age verification process will be rolled out to all US players by May 20th while login (if already have one) or account registration.”
Genshin Impact players are required to verify their age by July 18, 2025, or account suspension and even account deletion can occur if the process is not completed by July 26, 2026. To be clear, this does not mean anyone under the age of 16 can’t play Genshin Impact, fans only need to meet that requirement to purchase the title’s included loot boxes with currency.
The judgement was reached back in January 2025. The FTC alleges HoYoverse disregarded a children’s privacy law and deceived children and other users about the real costs of in-game transactions and in-game odds of obtaining rare prizes. HoYoverse at that time agreed to pay a $20 million settlement and to block children under 16 from making in-game purchases without parental consent.
The FTC complaint alleged HoYoverse violated the COPPA rule, which requires online services and websites directed to children under 13 to notify parents about the personal information they collect. The FTC accused HoYoverse of being aware that children under 13 used their service and although they were aware, continued to collect personal information from those children and use it without obtaining parental consent or complying with other COPPA requirements (according to the FTC website). It’s worth mentioning Epic Games lost a similar lawsuit in March 2023 over the same issue with loot boxes and the COPPA rule.
Fans who play Genshin Impact will need to verify their age starting May 20. Players should do so before July 18 to avoid account suspension.
