Miss a day and your streak resets? The game design Europe wants to stop

Miss just one day and you're back at the start

Login streak rewards are pretty common in mobile games. Miss even one day and your accumulated day count goes back to the start, so even on days when you don't really feel like playing, you end up opening the game just to check in and closing it again. If you haven't logged in for a while, you might also get a notification like "Your rewards are waiting".

On September 17, 2026, the European Commission released the EU KIDS Act proposal to protect minors online. Social media age limits made the news first, but there's a part worth a closer look for games. The proposal defines designs that encourage minors to log back in at set times, or make them lose benefits if they don't log in, as features that encourage excessive use. Login streak rewards fit closely with that wording.

The two features the proposal singles out

The obligations for game companies are set out in Article 15. Game companies have to put measures in place to give minors a high level of protection for their privacy, safety, and security. The first of these is to avoid encouraging compulsive or excessive use by minors. For this, Article 15 applies Article 9(1), along with Article 9(2)(b) and (d).

The two points of Article 9(2) that Article 15 applies relate directly to game design. Point (b) covers features that undermine a minor's decision to stop using the game. The example it gives is notifications sent regardless of the minor's activity.

Point (d) covers features that encourage logging in at set times or more often. This includes penalties or lost benefits for not logging in regularly or not coming back within a set interval.

Article 15 has other obligations, too. Settings for minors have to be set to high levels of privacy, security, and safety. Parental tools must be provided, and children under 13 must only be able to access games through those tools.

The conditions for getting rewards, not the rewards themselves

The wording targets the conditions for getting rewards, not the rewards themselves. The articles don't mention systems that reward you based on how much you play. The issues are "set times", "more frequent logins", and "losses from not logging in".

Judging by these criteria, login streak rewards that reset your accumulated day count if you miss even one day, login rewards or limited-time events available only at certain times, and "Your rewards are waiting" reminders sent to players who haven't logged in for a while look likely to be heavily affected. But legal interpretation depends on the final wording and the enforcement authorities' judgment, so what we've covered so far is an interpretation based on the articles.

The proposal also covers notifications separately. The proposal's explanatory text says push notifications for minors should be off by default and shouldn't be sent during school hours or core sleeping hours. Urgent notifications, such as account security alerts, and interactions with guardians are exceptions.

It isn't law yet

Right now, the European Commission has put forward a legislative proposal. It can only be adopted after the European Parliament and the Council of the EU review it, negotiate, and agree on the same final text. If adopted, it'll take effect as a regulation that applies directly across the EU, rather than a directive that requires member states to make separate national laws.

It does say when it would apply. Article 43 says it would enter into force 20 days after publication in the EU's Official Journal and apply 6 months after entering into force. But that timeline depends on final adoption, so we can't turn it into calendar dates yet.

There's also a provision in Article 15(4) saying game companies can demonstrate compliance with Article 15 by following codes of conduct approved at EU level. So industry codes could be where the standards used in practice get set.

We still don't know exactly what 'set times' covers

The proposal doesn't set out numbers to define exactly what "set times" or "more frequent logins" mean. It's also hard to judge from the articles alone where reward systems with fixed time periods, like weekly missions or a season pass, would fall.

The wording could change during negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council, and until codes of conduct come out, game companies are likely to interpret it differently.