UK Regulator Forces Sony and Nintendo to Change Subscription Policies

Reported earlier today by Gamesindustry, Nintendo and Sony have both agreed to policy changes for their respective subscription services. This is after a 2019 inquiry from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has now closed its investigation.

Examples given are Nintendo setting its Nintendo Switch Online service with auto-renewal off by default. Sony will be implementing a system to contact lapsed users after a year of inactivity, then auto-canceling their payments if use never resumes after a period of time.

Related: Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Subscription Services Are Currently Under Investigation

This investigation also included Microsoft, which already made moves to cooperate with the CMA earlier this year. Additionally, Microsoft also plans to roll some of its changes out worldwide sometime after the UK. That means it’s also important to mention the report does not state if these changes are UK-only, or if customers in North America or other regions can expect the same adjustments.

Game companies have routinely been a target of consumer protection regulators over the years, even in the United States. For example, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft were given a deadline to change some warranty language in 2018, which all three companies submitted to.