Dark-pattern ruling
A regulator or court has acted over purchase design built to trip people up: unwanted charges, cancellation traps or false urgency.
A regulator or court has acted, or the company has settled, over purchase design that took money people didn't mean to spend.
What it means
'Dark patterns' are designs that steer people into choices they didn't intend: a button that buys on a single accidental press, charges with no confirmation, subscriptions that are easy to start and hard to cancel, countdown timers that don't mean what they say, or refunds hidden away. This badge means an official body has acted over the company's purchase design, not just that players complained.
How we apply it
We add it for a regulator's fine or order, a court judgment, or a settlement over deceptive or unfair purchase design, unauthorised charges, or obstacles to cancelling or getting a refund. Settlements count even without an admission of wrongdoing. Cases about paid random items go under Loot-box enforcement, and misleading adverts under Misleading-marketing action.
Companies in the guide with it
- Epic Games
FTC, December 2022: $245 million in refunds over purchase design that led to unwanted charges, settled without admitting wrongdoing; Dutch ACM, May 2024: fined €562,500 over misleading Item Shop countdown timers in a design it called a dark pattern, upheld by the Rotterdam District Court in January 2026.
Developer and publisher · United States · 1 game in the guide