While the UK Gambling Commission is still deliberating the effects of loot boxes in video games, it looks like the US Federal Trade Commission will be pushing forward with its own investigation. Chairman Joseph Simmons revealed the new development to the Senate Commerce Subcommittee, promising to protect children and ensure …

Back in September, chief executive of the UK Gambling Commission Neil McArthur signed a declaration to “address the risks created by the blurring of lines between gaming and gambling”. It seems as though the regulator still hasn’t linked loot boxes with underage gambling, lining up new questions to address for …

While many fans were disappointed to learn that Fallout 76 is set to house microtransactions earlier this month, many took solace knowing that only cosmetics were being sold for real money. Marketing guru Pete Hines reiterates that the premium currency, Atoms, can also be earned simply by playing the game, …

Two weeks ago, Ireland was one of 16 countries to sign a declaration to keep loot boxes in check, investigating where the in-game practice steps over the blurred line of gambling laws. Despite this, and ongoing attempts to redefine gambling laws in the country, Department of Justice David Stanton has …

US and European regulators came together yesterday to sign a declaration dedicated to keeping in-game loot boxes in check. It seems Australia might not be too far behind after the Australian Environment and Communications Reference Committee (ECRC) has concluded its study into the practice, linking loot boxes to gambling. The …

Despite an ongoing discussion spanning the past year, only a handful of countries have concluded that in-game loot boxes pertain to gambling. In an effort to further protect those vulnerable, such as minors, a US gambling regulator has come together with 15 European watchdogs to sign a declaration dedicated to …

Belgium declared purchasable in-game loot boxes illegal back in April, with the treat of criminal prosecution looming over less than a month later. While Valve, Blizzard and 2K Games all complied by removing the practice from their games in the region, EA has done nothing to rectify its FIFA packs, …

Back in April, the Belgian Ministry of Justice began enforcing harsh punishments for games with loot boxes, considering them a form of gambling. Despite disagreeing with this conclusion, Blizzard has complied with the new laws by preventing Belgian Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm players from purchasing loot boxes with …

While Valve has removed loot boxes from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in the Netherlands after the country’s conclusion that the practice is gambling, it looks like the developer is trialling a different method for Dota 2. Still in compliance with newly introduced laws, Dutch players will now be able to see …

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 …

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 …

It seems that the conversation surrounding loot boxes and their relation to gambling has died down in recent months, but that hasn’t stopped authorities from keeping an eye on the developers that use the practice. The latest incident sees publishers Nexon, NextFloor and Netmarble being pulled up by South Korea’s …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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,” …