Careers in Game Compliance and Consumer Protection: Lessons from Italy’s Probe into Activision Blizzard

Don’t let confusion about regulations hold back your gaming career — the AGCM’s probe into Activision Blizzard shows regulators are watching, and London needs compliance talent now.

If you’re a London-based grad asking how to turn an interest in games into a reliable career, this is the moment. Late 2025 and early 2026 brought renewed regulatory scrutiny of monetisation mechanics and consumer protection in games — most notably Italy’s Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) opening investigations into Activision Blizzard’s Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty Mobile. That probe highlights a fast-growing set of roles in game compliance, consumer protection and regulatory affairs — roles that London employers are hiring for right now.

Why the AGCM investigation matters for your career (and why hiring is increasing)

Regulators are no longer treating in-game monetisation as a purely commercial problem. The AGCM said it is looking at “design elements to induce users, particularly children, into playing for long periods, and make in‑game purchases by urging them to not miss out on rewards.”

"These practices... may influence players as consumers — including minors — leading them to spend significant amounts, sometimes exceeding what is necessary to progress in the game and without being fully aware of the expenditure involved." — AGCM press release, Jan 2026

Key signals for jobseekers:

• Regulatory scrutiny creates roles. Publishers, platforms and fintechs need compliance analysts, product compliance leads and policy specialists to reduce legal risk and defend products in market.
• Consumer-protection expertise is cross-sectoral. Skills transfer to payments, advertising and data protection teams — all hiring in London.
• Public-facing enforcement increases demand for specialists. Legal counsel, communications and trust & safety teams work together after investigations; companies expand headcount to improve audits, documentation and policy design.

What game compliance and consumer protection roles actually do

Job titles vary. Here are the common ones and what they involve on a day-to-day basis:

Compliance Analyst / Junior Compliance Officer

• Audit monetisation systems (loot boxes, microtransactions, currency bundles) for regulatory risk.
• Maintain compliance registers and evidence for internal/external audits.
• Prepare reports for legal and product teams after incidents (e.g., suspected misleading prompts).

Product Compliance Manager

• Work with game designers to implement controls (spend caps, clearer price transparency, age gating).
• Create playbooks so monetisation teams understand legal boundaries and consumer‑protection best practice.
• Run internal training and sign off feature releases.

Regulatory Affairs / Policy Specialist

• Track laws, guidance and enforcement trends (EU, UK, other markets like Italy) and translate them into company policy.
• Engage with regulators, respond to consultations and represent the company at industry associations (e.g., Ukie).

Trust & Safety / Consumer Protection Investigator

• Investigate consumer complaints, identify systemic issues and recommend remediation (refunds, feature changes).
• Coordinate with legal and PR when high-profile investigations occur.

Skills employers look for now — and how to build them

After AGCM’s probe, employers want a mix of legal literacy, behavioural insight and technical skills. Here’s a prioritised list you can act on this week:

1. Regulatory literacy — Understand consumer protection law basics (misleading advertising, unfair trading, protections for minors). Read regulator guidance and enforcement summaries from 2024–2026.
2. Product thinking — Know how monetisation systems work: virtual currencies, bundles, time-limited rewards and progression gating.
3. Data & analysis — Be able to query basic behavioural datasets (SQL) and interpret spend patterns that could signal harm.
4. Behavioural science — Grasp nudge theory and dark patterns so you can spot design elements that may be labelled “aggressive” by regulators.
5. Communication — Write concise risk reports and policy notes; explain technical features to non-technical stakeholders.
6. Stakeholder management — Coordinate engineering, product, legal and external affairs during investigations and audits.

Step-by-step London grad roadmap to break into game compliance

Follow these steps over 6–12 months. Each step is practical and tailored to London’s job market.

Month 0–2: Foundation

• Take a short course: consumer protection law, data analytics basics or a UK regulatory short course (online options from universities or specialist providers).
• Build a simple portfolio piece: audit a mobile game’s monetisation flow (publicly available games are fine). Produce a one-page risk memo showing where spend mechanics might trigger regulatory concern and propose mitigations.
• Join London communities: Ukie, London Games Festival events, London Tech Week sessions, and relevant LinkedIn groups.

Month 3–6: Apply and network

• Target entry roles at publishers, studios and digital platforms in London. Also apply to roles at consultancies, law firms and regulators (CMA, ASA) that run consumer protection units.
• Use your portfolio in applications. In your cover letter, reference the AGCM case as a recent enforcement example and outline how you’d respond to a similar audit.
• Arrange informational interviews with compliance professionals (ask for 20–30 minutes). Prepare three specific questions: auditing process, cross-team workflows, and key metrics used to detect harmful monetisation.

Month 6–12: Gain experience and specialise

• Accept internships, contract roles or voluntary compliance audits. Even short consultancy projects build credibility.
• Contribute to industry guidance or speak at local meetups: explain how regulatory decisions (like AGCM’s) change product design priorities.
• Start a short blog or LinkedIn thread series analysing enforcement cases and practical mitigations — this demonstrates subject matter expertise.

Application tips: CV bullets, cover letter lines and interview prep

Recruiters for regulatory roles look for evidence you can think like both a lawyer and a product manager. Here are copy-ready lines.

CV bullets (tailor to your experience)

• Performed a risk audit of mobile game monetisation; identified 5 design elements (bundles, time-limited offers, currency opacity) and recommended 7 mitigations to reduce regulatory exposure.
• Used SQL to analyse user purchase patterns; detected clusters indicating potential overspend behaviour and produced a remediation plan for product leads.
• Drafted a consumer-facing refund policy and simplified purchase disclosures to improve transparency and align with UK/EU consumer guidance.

Cover letter sentence starters

• “Following the AGCM’s 2026 investigations into monetisation practices, I focused my portfolio on auditing virtual currency transparency and spend caps.”
• “I combine product analysis with regulatory research — I can translate enforcement trends into product controls that reduce risk and preserve revenue.”

Top interview questions to prepare for

• How would you conduct an audit of a live free-to-play monetisation funnel?
• What indicators would you use to decide whether a game's mechanic could be considered misleading to consumers or minors?
• Describe a time you translated a complex regulation into a simple product requirement.

Where to look in London — employers, regulators and consultancies

Roles exist across several employer types. Prioritise these for job alerts and LinkedIn searches:

• Publishers & studios — large publishers and mid-size studios hire compliance and product policy roles to manage monetisation risk.
• Payment & platform providers — fintechs and platforms that enable in-game purchases need consumer-protection specialists.
• Consultancies & law firms — advisory services for regulatory readiness; look for digital economy or consumer-protection teams.
• Regulators & public bodies — CMA, ASA and sector regulators run investigation and policy jobs; graduate schemes or short-term analyst roles appear regularly.
• Industry bodies & nonprofits — trade bodies like Ukie and consumer organisations need analysts who understand both games and regulation.

Salary expectations and progression (London, 2026)

Ranges vary by employer size and sector. These are approximate London market figures in 2026:

• Junior/Analyst roles: £28k–£40k
• Mid-level Product Compliance / Manager: £45k–£75k
• Senior Regulatory Affairs / Head of Compliance: £80k–£150k+

Large publishers and consultancies typically offer sponsorship and higher pay; regulators often provide strong training but may have limited sponsorship options. Always check visa policies before applying if you need sponsorship.

Case study: How a London junior turned an AGCM-style audit into a job

Anna, a recent law grad in London, completed a short consumer-protection course and then audited a popular free-to-play game as a portfolio piece. She documented how currency bundles and unclear exchange rates could mislead players. Anna shared the memo on LinkedIn, reached out to a compliance manager at a mid-size studio, and landed a 3‑month contract to build an internal audit checklist. That contract converted to a permanent role after the studio used her checklist to redesign purchase disclosures — a direct business outcome recruiters value.

2026 trends and predictions: where this field is going

The AGCM investigation is part of a broader pattern. Expect these developments through 2026:

• More cross-border enforcement. Regulators will share intelligence on game monetisation, increasing the need for teams who can coordinate multi-jurisdictional responses.
• Stronger technical controls inside products. Spend limits, clearer in-app pricing, and age verification will become standard features.
• Data-driven compliance. Companies will invest in behavioural detection systems to flag potentially harmful spend patterns before regulators do.
• New specialisms. Roles combining behavioural science and policy (e.g., “Behavioural Compliance Analyst”) will appear more often in London job listings.

Special notes for internationals and visa-holders in London

If you’re an international graduate, plan for one of these routes:

• Graduate visa: Use the UK Graduate route after study if eligible to get 2–3 years to work and gain experience.
• Skilled Worker visa: Target employers that list sponsorship in job ads (publishers, major consultancies and large fintechs frequently sponsor).
• Regulators: Some public bodies have nationality requirements; always check role eligibility before applying.

Quick checklist you can use today

• Build one portfolio audit of a free-to-play game and publish a one-page memo.
• Learn core SQL and basic analytics to demonstrate data-driven thinking.
• Follow enforcement trackers and regulatory press releases (AGCM, CMA, ASA) to reference recent cases in applications.
• Set job alerts for: “product compliance”, “consumer protection”, “regulatory affairs”, “trust & safety” and “game compliance” in London.
• Attend at least one industry event (London Games Festival, Ukie sessions, London Tech Week) in the next 3 months.

Final takeaways

The AGCM investigation into Activision Blizzard’s mobile titles makes one thing clear: regulators are scrutinising how games monetise and protect consumers, and that scrutiny is creating well-paid, mission-driven jobs in London. If you combine legal literacy, product awareness and data skills, you can enter a role that influences product design, defends companies in investigations, and protects players — especially minors.

Start small: audit a game, publish a short memo, and use it to open conversations. Employers hire evidence of thinking and outcomes, not just certificates.

Call to action

Ready to make the jump? Update your CV with one audit bullet, set alerts for London roles in game compliance and consumer protection, and join a local industry event this month. If you want a ready-made CV template and a 30‑point audit checklist tailored to mobile monetisation, visit joblondon.uk/careers-in-gaming — or sign up for our newsletter to get the checklist delivered to your inbox.

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