The investigation is due to explore whether the games unfairly pressure children or parents by misleading customers who think they're downloading a free game but could ultimately incur substantial costs.

The OFT are "exploring whether these games are misleading, commercially aggressive or otherwise unfair. In particular, the OFT is looking into whether these games include 'direct exhortations' to children - a strong encouragement to make a purchase, or to do something that will necessitate making a purchase, or to persuade their parents or other adults to make a purchase for them."

The OFT are writing to the developers and publishers of the games to ask for details on their marketing strategies. Consumer agencies and parents are also being encouraged to contact the OFT in relation to potential breaches of guidelines. The consumer organisation will then explore whether the companies involved have breached existing consumer law or guidelines.

Many of these games, often based on familiar properties such as The Smurfs, offer free access to sections of the game. Players can then use real-life money to purchase extra content, costumes, in-game currency (often based on objects like fruit or gems) and other shortcuts that speed up or enhance aspects of the game. This model is often referred to as 'freemium' or 'free-to-play'

Popularity

Online games aimed at children and families have proven extremely popular, especially as many parents now allow their children to use iPads and other smart devices. The current top-five grossing games on the iOS App Store are all ‘free-to-play’ titles with in-built microtransactions, with the top grossing Candy Crush Saga aimed at players aged four and up. Other titles are offered for an upfront free, although may increasingly include extra ‘in-app’ transactions too.

Some games operate a subscription service on top of the free content. The extremely popular Moshi Monsters web browser game, for example, offers monthly or annual subscription deals: ranging from €4.95 for a month to a once-off payment of €29.95 for a year-long pass. The game, which has 80 million registered users, does not include any other in-game purchases.

Accidental purchases

Although many of the games offer low priced upgrades and extras, others offer extras that can cost upwards of hundreds of euro. In February a five year-old English boy accidentally spent £1,700 in ten minutes on the Zombies vs Ninja game after rapidly purchasing £69.99 bundles of in-game items.  It was reported in March that a child in the UK had similarly bought over a thousand euro worth of in-game donuts in the Simpsons: Tapped Out app. In both cases, the parents were ultimately refunded by Apple.

Parents with Apple devices used by their children can disable the transactions by opening their general settings, selecting the ‘restrictions’ menu and using a password lock to disable in-app purchases. Parental controls are also available on other smart devices, game consoles and PCs. Other recommended restrictions include disabling online features if possible and limiting access to passwords & user profiles.