Back in June, Blizzard confirmed that it would no longer be selling loot boxes in Overwatch 2 and would instead opt to sell seasonal battle passes and have a cosmetics store where you can buy skins and other items directly. Loot boxes will be removed well ahead of the transition …

A couple of years ago, the UK government revealed plans to take a closer look at the games industry and loot box practices, which many have argued should fall under gambling regulations. The UK won't be doing anything at this time, but it has warned that game publishers should take …

While Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2 would launch in Early Access this year during the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, the studio also saved a few reveals for its own stream. Last night, during a new development update stream, Blizzard announced some even bigger changes coming to Overwatch 2, including the …

Throughout closed alpha and beta tests, players have come away from Diablo Immortal with positive impressions. Interestingly, these pre-release versions did not include any microtransaction content, but it would appear that loot boxes will indeed be part of the game, leading to it being cancelled for the Netherlands and Belgium.  …

We've seen a lot of lawsuits levied against game publishers over loot boxes over the years, although sports games tend to get a pass. With the exception of FIFA Ultimate Team, few have attempted to sue other sports game publishers over loot boxes, but that is beginning to change. Now, …

For a little while now, Epic Games has been facing a class-action lawsuit over loot boxes sold in Rocket League and Fortnite. This week, a settlement agreement was reached, which will see Epic Games providing in-game currency. The lawsuit was filed after Epic Games removed randomised loot boxes from Rocket …

EA is no stranger to lawsuits, particularly in the wake of the Battlefront II loot box controversy. Since then, folks have been taking a harder look at FIFA Ultimate Team, one of EA's biggest sources of income each quarter. The latest class-action lawsuit claims EA uses Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment to …

Earlier this week, the Dutch Gaming Authority announced plans to fine EA millions of dollars for its inclusion of “addictive gaming elements” in FIFA in The Netherlands. EA previously threw in the towel and removed the ability to buy FIFA points when it ran into this problem in Belgium, but …

The Dutch Gaming Authority has officially fined EA and demanded that the publisher remove “addictive gaming elements” from its FIFA games. As you would expect, this concerns FIFA Ultimate Team and the expensive card packs/loot boxes EA sells for that mode.  Over in The Netherlands, the Dutch Gaming Authority has …

When it comes to the loot box debate, EA gets brought up quite often. Multiple investigations and legal cases have been thrown at the publisher in the years since Star Wars Battlefront II's release and this week, another one was added to the pile.  EA is reportedly being sued in …

The UK's Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has been investigating video game loot boxes for a while now, all in an attempt to figure out whether they should be considered as a form of gambling. There have been plenty of arguments on both sides of this debate and …

Though there was once a time when loot boxes were being implemented into a large number of games, it would seem the many controversies surrounding the exploitative nature of the randomised system has led to many of these developers backtracking on the mechanic. The latest game to remove loot boxes …

The idea of ‘gaming addiction' and loot boxes encouraging gambling behaviour has been a heavy topic of discussion for the last few years. The World Health Organisation and NHS already recognise Gaming Disorder as a mental health condition and now the NHS is specifically targeting loot boxes too.  NHS mental …

Call of Duty has suffered many controversies with regards to its loot boxes. For a number of years, the First person shooter would launch without any microtransactions in sight, only to add them in later, once sales began to slow down. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare seems to be breaking …

Amid questions surrounding the upcoming Call of Duty’s post-launch loot box plans, Activision took to its blog to explain the situation. Call of Duty’s monetary structure has been relatively consistent for the last several years: at launch, the game contains no microtransactions or loot boxes; it gets reviewed well; then …

According to an official statement from Infinity Ward, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will not include loot boxes or a supply drop system on launch. Although it wasn’t confirmed that loot boxes are out of the game for good. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's Art Direct published a statement on …

Valve is implementing some region-specific changes for CS:GO this week in order to get around potential loot box regulations. In an effort to work around the lootboxes/gambling argument, CS:GO now has an X-Ray scanner to reveal the specific item in any container before opening it. The X-Ray Scanner is only …

The ongoing loot box debate continued late last week when the UK’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee announced that it would be recommending that video game loot boxes be regulated under gambling laws. As you might imagine, the Entertainment Software Association isn’t too happy about this. The committee, which …

There has been plenty of discussion around the ethics of loot boxes over the last couple of years, to the point where governments around the world have been launching their own investigations and some politicians have been calling for outright bans. In an effort to keep the games industry self-regulated, …

Psyonix has been through some major changes this year. First off, the studio behind Rocket League was acquired by Epic Games and now, another major change is coming, with Rocket League set to cut out randomised loot boxes. Crates in Rocket League were first introduced in 2016 as a way …

Loot box controversy has been going on for years now but publishers are starting to get worried as governments around the world are starting to pay attention and are investigating how predatory these microtransactions can be in certain games. EA has of course found itself right at the centre of …

Over the last couple of years, there has been plenty of debate surrounding in-game loot boxes and whether or not they should be considered gambling. Investigations have been launched and politicians have gotten involved all across the world. While some countries took the view that loot boxes were fine, others …

Blizzard downsized its Heroes of the Storm team at the end of last year, putting an end to the game’s stint as an esport. Shifting its focus, the developer is now overhauling the MOBA to expand on hero roles and do away with those pesky, controversial loot boxes. Loot boxes, …

Last year, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an investigation into loot boxes, attempting to gain an understanding of the practice to further protect children. While the results of this enquiry have yet to be made public, the regulator has announced that it will be holding a public forum …

Contrary to Activision’s usual business choices, the publisher surprisingly allowed Treyarch to release Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 without controversial loot boxes. Sadly, 4 months of bliss has come to an end, as Operation Grand Heist introduces paid Reserve Crates. The change isn’t entirely unexpected given that the series …

Epic Games is making some changes in Fortnite’s Save the World mode, replacing blind loot boxes with transparent packs that are upfront about their contents.  This doesn't affect the infinitely more popular Battle Royale mode, thanks to the game focusing more on tradtional microtransactions. New “X-Ray” Llamas will be introduced …

Despite multiple countries scrutinising loot boxes for their supposed link to gambling, the United Kingdom has taken a rather reserved approach by dismissing the connection on numerous occasions. Fortunately, further investigations from the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee into “addictive technologies” is allowing the public to have their say …

Bethesda isn’t short of controversy when it comes to its latest post-apocalyptic entry, with Fallout 76 players criticising more than the nylon bag replacement in its misleading collector’s edition. Within the game’s latest changelog, the developer makes mention of lunch boxes, which sound an awful lot like an analogue to …

Bethesda has been working on Quake Champions for a few years now and the game has already gone under a few major changes. At one point, the idea was to make the game freely accessible to all, while also selling a ‘champion pack' that gave access to all in-game characters. …

Although Australia’s ECRC has already concluded that loot boxes are “psychologically akin to gambling”, a new report from the Australian Senate has called for further action. Just days after the FTC launches its own investigation in the US, pressure has mounted for the Australian government to follow suit following a …