Tag Archives: Loot Boxes

Last month, Valve removed Steam Marketplace and trading functions from Dutch players of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in order to avoid punishment for breaching respective gambling laws. Luckily, these systems have since made their way back to the game, but players from both the Netherlands and Belgium have instead lost access …

The loot box narrative continues, as French regulator ARJEL released its 2017-18 activity report. While it determined that loot boxes don’t legally pertain to gambling, the practice does warrant a closer look from the board, with ARJEL stating that Europe should form a combined consensus on the matter, rather than …

A new study from psychology researchers at the University of Adelaide has lambasted in-game purchases, particularly loot boxes, due to their resemblance to gambling. Dubbing the techniques deployed as “predatory,” it’s possible that this conclusion could factor into the rest of Australia’s investigation into the practice. While microtransactions in general …

FIFA’s Ultimate Team is in a weird position where it’s loot boxes aren’t usually criticised. FIFA’s player base has just come to accept it, and the number of casual players that just play FIFA probably isn’t even aware of the larger discussion surrounding loot boxes. EA is though and will …

Loot boxes have been a hot topic for the past year, with governing bodies seemingly divided on relationship between chance-based microtransactions and gambling. Australia is looking to make its own decisions by September, authorising the Environment and Communications References Committee to investigate the practice. The motion was presented earlier this …

Loot boxes became the subject of controversy for the Dutch back in April, as The Netherlands Gaming Authority found that some games did breach gambling laws. The country gave developers until today to alter game designs or face prosecution, forcing Valve to make some changes to its Marketplace. It’s fair …

The Belgium Gaming Commission spoke out against purchasable in-game loot boxes two weeks ago, deeming the practice illegal. Now it believes that its top offenders should face criminal prosecution, defining exactly what does and does not constitute as gambling as well as the proceedings that should follow if these parameters …

EA opened a can of worms with the inclusion of loot boxes in Star Wars: Battlefront II, with each country discussing whether or not the practice is a form of gambling. Challenging the accusations, EA chief executive Andrew Wilson has revealed that the company will continue to implement loot boxes …

Over the last six months, there has been no shortage of politicians and regulatory groups getting involved in the gaming space due to the controversy surrounding loot boxes. Last week, the Netherlands Gaming Authority released the results of a study that found that four out of ten loot boxes did …

Over the last six months, there has been no shortage of politicians and regulatory groups getting involved in the gaming space due to the controversy surrounding loot boxes. The Netherlands Gaming Authority recently conducted its own study of ten games featuring loot boxes, and while the majority of them were …

While the loot box controversy may have peaked with Star Wars Battlefront 2 last year, there was a brief window of time where the spotlight was on Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. Unlike the first game in the series, Shadow of War introduced microtransactions, allowing players to buy loot boxes to …

Over the last several months, there has been mounting pressure on game companies and rating boards to do something about the rise in concern over in-game microtransactions and loot boxes. Politicians have been getting involved, and earlier this month we saw a US senator directly call on the ESRB to …

Loot boxes are currently a hot topic in the gaming industry, leading many companies to re-evaluate how their own systems work. In an attempt to get ahead of the curve, Riot has now released its drop rates for League of Legends’ Hextech Chests, alongside its bonus drops and special rules. …

While development might have slowed for certain features of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds in favour of putting a stop to cheaters, it seems that loot crates are entirely unaffected. PUBG Corp has revealed that it has two new cosmetic crates lined up for testing today: The Militia Crate and the Fever Crate. …

With the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red set the standard at which almost all titles have been compared thanks to its expansive content and good-guy business practices. Now, the developer has weighed in on the ongoing loot box controversy, chastising companies for charging full price …

It looks like the concerns raised by last year's video game loot box controversies are still prevalent in the minds of politicians over in the US. This week, Hawaii's representative outlined four bill proposals that would age-gate games considered to contain a ‘gambling element'. In addition, a US senator sent …

Earlier this week, we learned that Hawaii representative, Chris Lee, had made some progress on his crusade against loot boxes in video games. Lee first gained recognition for this last year after speaking out against Star Wars Battlefront II's loot box system. Now, the legislator has proposed four new bills …

Hawaii representative Chris Lee has made some progress on his crusade against loot boxes, originally vilifying EA’s Star Wars Battlefront II as a ‘Star Wars-themed online casino’ because of the practice. The legislator has now proposed four new bills in hopes of prompting transparency in the gaming industry as well …

Sea of Thieves is just over a month away from release, and although developer Rare will be helping its players simulate the life of a pirate, it’s keen on keeping its own shady practices to a minimum. As such, while microtransactions are a possibility somewhere down the line, the more …

Following the announcement that Germany’s Youth Protection Commission is considering an outright ban on loot boxes, Sweden will potentially be classifying the practice as gambling by early 2019. The shift in categorisation would mean that any game to include loot boxes would be subject to much harsher regulations under Swedish …

Since Square Enix has expressed its interest in the games as a service model, fans have become concerned as to what that means for the future of the many series under its belt. CEO Yosuke Matsuda has now gone on record to assure fans that single-player titles are not under …

The question of whether or not loot boxes constitute as gambling rages on. Despite some countries already coming to the conclusion that they don’t, the German Youth Protection Commission isn’t convinced and is now considering a ban based on a new study. German newspaper Welt was first on the story, …

Last week we learned that DICE would finally be revamping Star Wars Battlefront II's progression system in the wake of last year's massive loot box controversy. We don't have exact details yet, but many are hoping for the removal of Star Cards, which have been a point of contention since …

Yesterday, Ubisoft announced the upcoming changes to its retail offerings, including the Standard Edition being replaced by the more expensive and ever-so-slightly more robust Advanced Edition. Included within the announcement are details of Outbreak Packs, Siege’s event counterpart of its Alpha Packs but instead of being earned in-game, these loot …

While the United States jumped into the loot box foray last year, its only represented state was Hawaii thanks to representative, Chris Lee. It seems that Washington is now getting in on the action, as senator Kevin Ranker has introduced a bill to determine the connection between loot boxes and …

Today, a GDC survey outlined that loot crates are necessary for the continued survival of games and their respective studios, but something is inherently wrong about the way the practice is conducted in the Western world. Ubisoft is keen to take a crack at defining how it’s supposed to be …

If you think loot boxes are so 2017, it seems that you’d be wrong as it looks like the practice isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. For the past three years, more than 4,500 developers who have attended the Game Developers Conference have expressed their intention of implementing “paid item crates,” …

Steering away from the controversy, Monster Hunter World producer Ryozo Tsujimoto made sure to assure fans that it wouldn’t be following the same trend as other games when it comes to loot boxes. Now, as we approach the title’s release, he’s keen to reiterate that statement, explaining that any microtransactions …

There has been plenty of controversy surrounding Star Wars Battlefront II and EA’s monetisation decisions. This only got worse when EA attempted to defend itself, with CFO Blake Jorgensen explaining that the publisher didn’t want to ‘violate canon’ with skin options, using pink Darth Vader as an example of a …

With every advancement in technology, the law has always lagged behind. This is most recently evident in the controversy of loot boxes and how to regulate them, but things might be beginning to change. Apple has updated its iOS developer guidelines, now requiring games with loot boxes to disclose their …