EA Can No Longer Call Dungeon Keeper “Free” In The UK

Old school gamers were probably thrilled when they heard that Dungeon Keeper would be revitalized as a mobile game, although their tunes quickly changed when they realized that the game felt more like a cash grab from EA, as opposed to a faithful remake of the game. Granted the game kept its core features, but the fact that EA kept bugging players to make in-app purchases kind of marred the overall experience.

The game follows the free to play model, which for those hearing about it for the first time basically means that the game is free to download, but there will be in-app purchases offered that will help players advance in the game or offer cosmetic changes. That being said, it seems that over in the UK, EA is no longer allowed to call the game “free” amidst claims that it would be considered misleading.

According to the ruling made by the UK’s Advertising Standards Agency, “The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Electronic Arts Ltd to ensure that future ads made clear the limitations of free gameplay and role of in-app purchasing with regard to speeding up gameplay.”

There are different types of free to play games. Games like DotA 2 are truly free to play as the game only offers in-app purchases in the form of cosmetic changes, which in no way hinders or affects the gamer. Games like Candy Crush, on the other hand, offers in-app purchases that gives the player extra moves, lives, and so on to help them advance.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gaming
Tags: Apps, dungeon keeper, EA