loot boxes Archives

Activision
The ESRB has announced a new change in policy with ratings as they will now point out in-game purchases such as loot boxes The company made the reveal this morning, stating that they had started assigning the In-Game Purchases and Users Interact notices to games The goal os the "In-Game Purchases Interactive Element" informs parents and other[...]
Activision
It appears the era of loot boxes may be coming to a close within the next few years, and England has a new report on them tied to gambling The report published by Claire Murdoch, the mental health director of England's National Health Service did a study on the subject and said that the transactions[...]
Epic Games is Getting Sued Over Fortnite Llama Loot Boxes
A parent of an underaged Fortnite player has sued Epic Games in California this week over the original llama loot boxes, claiming they were unfair and deceptive The Verge broke the news and has the complete court document if you'd like to read it, but the short version is that the mother claims the original[...]
EA Stops Selling FIFA Points in Belgium Due to Loot Box Decision
Electronic Arts just joined a growing list of companies who are forced to take loot boxes and microtransactions off the market in Belgium The company issued a statement this week confirming that FIFA Points will be removed from FIFA 19 in the country, however, they will continue to remain a part of the game everywhere[...]
You Can Now See Fortnite: Save the World Loot Box Contents Before Purchase
It looks like Epic Games is letting you see exactly what you're purchasing in Fortnite loot boxes, but only in a specific mode that isn't the most popular version When the next update rolls around for the game (7.3.0), the developers are going to allow you to see exactly what's inside every llama you could[...]
Activision
The latest country to put loot boxes and microtransactions on blast and question their existence this week is Australia The Australian Senate Environment and Communications References Committee delivered a report looking into loot boxes called "Gaming micro-transactions for chance-based items", which did an in-depth study into the issue and their findings are less than promising toward[...]
Halo: Infinite
A little bit of good news coming from 343 Industries, sort of, as it has been confirmed the company will not be adding cash loot boxes in Halo: Infinite In a bit of a thread on Twitter, Studio Head FPS at 343 Industries Chris Lee confirmed that the company will not be adding any form[...]
Activision
Today, Blizzard issued a statement on its forums letting people know that loot boxes have been disabled for two games in Belgium Specifically for Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm Following the trend that Valve first started with CS:GO a few weeks ago, the company is following the local law after they had been considered gambling[...]
New CS:GO Update Stops Loot Boxes from Being Opened in Netherlands, Belgium
When last we spoke about the judgment about loot boxes around the world, The Netherlands and Belgium decided to classify them as gambling This led Valve to shut down their system in both those countries until they could find a solution The solution they came up with: eliminate the ability to open them. The latest update to[...]
ESA President Defends Loot Boxes and Warns Against Government Intervention
The president of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Michael Gallagher, has defended the practice of offering loot boxes in video games during his address at the Nordic games Conference According to GamesIndustry.biz, Gallagher warned that efforts to regulate them as a form of gambling "challenges our industry's freedom to innovate, and impairs our ability to continuously[...]
Activision
It didn't take long after The Netherlands made their own ruling that loot boxes were a form of gambling for other European countries to explore the matter and make their own decisions Today, Belguim just made one that could be the start of a lengthy legal process in their country for both sides Eurogamer is[...]
Activision
A report is coming out of The Netherlands today, following an investigation over ten unnamed video games by the Netherlands Gaming Authority, that had determined that certain loot boxes are unlawful and illegal under the government's current gambling laws We have a snippet from the official report below, but the short version is that some (not all)[...]
Paladins
Prior to Cards Unbound, players would unlock the stat cards through randomized loot boxes or through crafting With Cards Unbound, the cards would be made available to all players The trouble came with the new card levelling system To level up a card, players would need to collect several duplicates to fuse into a higher[...]
CD Projekt Red Admits To Not Liking Loot Boxes Themselves
If you're not a fan of loot boxes, don't sweat it, because there are people within the gaming industry who don't like them either In an interview with PC Gamer, CD Projekt Red's CEO Adam Kiciński opened up about how he feels about loot boxes, saying that when you buy a game it should be the[...]
The ESA Offers A Response To The Hawaii Loot Box Legislation
As we reported earlier this week, there are a couple bills waiting to be seen by the Hawaiian legislature over loot boxes and microtransactions, which if they manage to pass could have an impact on the way the industry handles putting them in games moving forward Today, the Entertainment Software Association decided to offer their[...]
Activision
Gamasutra first picked up the news today, sharing an interview with News Tribune in which Senator Kevin Ranker says the bill enlists Washington state and the video game industry to figure out how to regulate loot boxes. "It is unacceptable to be targeting our children with predatory gambling masked in a game with dancing bunnies or something," Ranker[...]
Blizzard Insists Overwatch Loot Box Drop Rates have not Changed
The user claimed that after opening 50 loot boxes, they hadn't found any of the new items rolled out in the update. Please keep in mind that unlike during events you're not guaranteed to get a new item in every box These items went into the pool of all available items in the base Loot Box. — Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch)[...]
GDC Nintendo Switch
What you'll find most interesting are the results on interest in the Nintendo Switch and interest in loot boxes. It seems like interest in developing games for the Switch is growing with 12% of respondents working on a game for the platform 15% planning to make their next game available on Switch As for which platform[...]
Get Ready for Loot Boxes in Dragon Ball FighterZ
You'd think game companies would learn the lessons that have been taught to them over the past calendar year about putting loot boxes inside games, but you know what… they don't Bandai Namco is the latest to join the "bad idea in a good game" train by adding loot boxes to Dragon Ball FighterZ[...]
Let's Talk About Loot Boxes and Player Created Black Markets
Credit// DeNA Corp One of the few things that hasn't made much of an effect on the current loot box kerfuffle is the existence of player created black markets for the kinds of in-game goods that would normally be dropped by loot boxes or similar grab-bag systems I've used the logo for the now defunct Marvel War[...]
Lineage ii loot box
Specifically, the new rules require that loot boxes be transparent about their odds of dropping each type of reward "Apps offering 'loot boxes' or other mechanisms that provide randomized virtual items for purchase must disclose the odds of receiving each type of item to customers prior to purchase," the new rule states. So it should tell[...]
Paladins
And many players are angry over its apparent similarities to Star Wars Battlefront II's Star Card system, arguing that the changed make the system a pay-to-win one. Prior to these changes, the stat-boosting cards needed to be unlocked through randomized loot boxes or by crafting Under the new system, called Cards Unbound, all cards are available to[...]
What A Shock: The ESA Says Microtransactions Are Not Gambling
But that story led to an ESA official putting out this quote, defining the organization's stance on the issue. credit//Activision "Loot boxes are a voluntary feature in certain video games that provide players with another way to obtain virtual items that can be used to enhance their in-game experiences They are not gambling Depending on the game[...]
There's A 'DOOM' Mod That Pokes Fun At Loot Boxes
You can find the details on ZDOOM's forum, but the short version is that this mod "up to modern triple-A video game standards" by downloading the mod into the old-school version of the game that adds loot boxes and requires items that you can only get from loot boxes to move the game forward[...]
Activision
The UK Gambling Commission issued a statement over the weekend regarding the ever-growing argument over loot boxes/crates and microtransactions, and whether or not they constitute gambling The commission decided that they are not gambling since the money you put into them does not constitute a cash payout in return and that you're technically buying something[...]
Australian Officials Concur That Loot Boxes Are Gambling
An Australian user on Reddit has posted a correspondence he had about loot boxes with a representative of the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation In it, the government individual confirms that under their current laws, loot boxes and other gaming microtransactions do fall under gambling We highly recommend checking out the entire post, but below is[...]
Activision
VTM News, one of Belgium's news networks, is reporting that Belgium is looking to have Loot Boxes banned in Europe as it constitutes a form of gambling According to a translation of the story, the Belgium's Gaming Commission did an investigation on loot boxes to determine if they were, in fact, a form of gambling, which[...]
An Online Petition Wants Loot Boxes Classified As Gambling
Over the past few weeks, it's hard to find a podcast or show that hasn't talked about Loot Boxes in some form as gambling A conversation only fueled by Star Wars: Battlefront II's horrible system, along with Call Of Duty: WWII, CS:GO, and Overwatch used as examples If this trend continues to grow, you're more than[...]