The subscription changes made by Sony and Nintendo have been "welcomed" by the Competition and Markets Authority

The gaming giants - behind consoles such as the PlayStation and the Switch respectively - had caused concern to the UK regulator when it was found that user subscriptions could be automatically renewed despite inactivity.

In a statement, the CMA said: "The CMA welcomes improvements made by Sony and Nintendo to their gaming subscription practices and has now closed its investigation into the online gaming sector. Sony has agreed to put in place measures to protect customers who haven’t used their memberships for a long time but are still paying. Sony will contact these customers to remind them how to stop payments and, if they continue not to use their memberships, Sony will ultimately stop taking further payments. We’ve reached out to Sony to ask if these changes will apply only in the UK or will also be extended to other countries."

The authorities went on to explain that they had also "engaged" with the Super Mario creators and had reached an agreeent with them that will have the same effect as the actions taken at Sony.

The statement read: "The CMA also engaged with Nintendo, which changed its business practices during the course of the investigation so that Nintendo Switch Online Service is no longer sold with automatic renewal set as the default option. This means people will not be automatically entering into renewing contracts, addressing a number of the CMA’s concerns about people becoming locked in."