WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cognosphere, the maker of anime-style fantasy video game "Genshin Impact," has agreed to pay $20 million and block children under age 16 from making in-game purchases without parental consent to settle U.S. Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company violated a children's privacy law.

Cognosphere allegedly unfairly marketed loot boxes to children that obscured real costs and misled all players about the odds of obtaining prizes, the FTC said in a statement on Friday while announcing the settlement of the charges.