Tag Archives: Loot Boxes

Last week, Take-Two announced Private Division, a new label set to cater to indie titles on a much lower budget. The question on many people’s tongues was whether Private Division would push microtransactions as aggressively as its parent company, but according to Obsidian, they won’t be appearing in its upcoming …

Loot boxes and their relation to gambling has been a hot topic of 2017, showing no signs of stopping as we head into the new year. In a bid to address the issue head on, independent charity Gamble Aware and The Gambling Commission have shifted the conversation from defining what …

The loot box debacle deepened last week as a US lawmaker geared up for some much needed changes surrounding the system. It seems the same can’t be said for New Zealand, however, as the country’s government has determined that loot boxes aren’t classed as gambling. Gamasutra broke the news via …

Back in November, Hawaii representative, Chris Lee, rose to prominence in the gaming scene after he called out Star Wars Battlefront II's loot box system, blasting EA's microtransaction scheme as a ‘predatory practice'. He also branded the game as a ‘Star Wars-themed online casino' in a video announcing his plans …

Yesterday, EA commented on Battlefront II’s loot box system, stating that the reason it hasn’t stuck solely to cosmetics is to abide by the current Disney canon of the Star Wars universe. It seems that this wasn’t always an issue, however, as dataminers have uncovered deeper character customisation within the …

A few weeks ago, Take-Two's CEO said in an earnings call that the publisher would be looking to include microtransactions in all of its games moving forward. This of course, arrived just before the Battlefront II loot box fiasco. Given the backlash EA is facing, other publishers are likely taking …

The controversy surrounding Star Wars Battlefront II has been going back and forth for a while but since switching off microtransactions, EA has been pretty quiet on the subject. Now, the publisher's CFO, Blake Jorgensen has elaborated a bit more on EA's decisions leading up to release, specifically addressing the …

With the increasing inclusion of loot crates within popular triple-A titles came the concerns over their relation to gambling and subsequent ratings enabling minors to engage in the malicious practice. This has escalated as of late, with Belgium and certain states in the US calling for investigations and potential bans, …

It seems that politicians in the US are also getting involved in the video game loot box debate. Earlier today, we learned that the Belgium Gaming Commission do consider loot boxes to be a form of gambling and now, politicians in Hawaii are calling out EA's “predatory practices” with Star …

Update (22/11/17): After announcing that it would be launching an investigation last week, the Belgium Gaming Commission has announced that it now deems video game loot boxes as a form of gambling. Initially, the Belgium Gaming Commission was investigating the crates obtained in games like Overwatch and Star Wars Battlefront …

Loot boxes have gained quite the stigma lately, arousing controversy due to many perceiving its randomised nature and ties to microtransactions as a form of gambling. We’ve seen many games cited as a part of the problem, such as Destiny 2, Middle-earth: Shadow of War and the upcoming Star Wars …

While microtransactions aren’t new to the gaming world, it has taken a turn in 2017 by making their way into single-player experiences such as Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Assassin’s Creed Origins. This has caused unrest in the gaming community, but Monster Hunter fans need not worry about such a …

The inclusion of loot boxes in Call of Duty isn’t exactly a new concept, with Sledgehammer Games having introduced them in Advanced Warfare back in 2014. The studio is continuing this practice with Call of Duty: WWII, and while this is unsurprising, it’s certainly a hot topic as of late. …

It seems that Halloween scares came earlier than expected this year when pay-to-win concerns surrounding Star Wars Battlefront 2 loot crate arose. Luckily, EA is trying to improve its system and, unusually, is being quite forthright about it. During the beta for Star Wars Battlefront 2, progression was almost entirely …

Assassin’s Creed Origins released today, giving the series a soft reboot and taking players into Ancient Egypt where it all started. Surprisingly, there has been little to no publicity on the fact that the game does contain clearly pay-to-win microtransactions. Amidst the wave of games just released that contain controversial …

Concerns arose around video game loot boxes a couple of weeks ago, with a good portion of the public stating that they should be revised to classify as gambling. While the government has already offered one response, it has since gone into more detail, stating that it is “committed to …

Since the alpha build of Star Wars Battlefront II, there have been concerns surrounding the game’s ‘Star Card’ system, which offer power-ups in multiplayer matches and can be obtained by paying extra money. This came to a head during the recent open beta, forcing DICE to respond. Now this week, …

Developer Fatshark has released the first look at its upcoming sequel, Warhammer: Vermintide 2. One thing that the studio was adamant on getting across is that the only Chaos here is the faction, as the game will “NOT” have loot boxes. That’s right, Chaos is taking the forefront this time …

Previous UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tracey Crouch has responded to Cambridge Labour MP Daniel Zeichner's two questions regarding the concern that loot boxes are a form of gambling.

Update 17/10/17: Conservative MP and former Culture, Media and Sport committee member, Tracey Crouch, has officially responded to Cambridge Labour MP, Daniel Zeichner's questions. Unfortunately, the government has yet to respond to Connor Rhys Deeley's ongoing petition which seems well on its way to achieving its 100,000-signature goal. Original story: Last week, game …

While titles like Middle-Earth: Shadow of War and Star Wars Battlefront II are coming under fire for their loot box microtransactions, Ubisoft is taking the safer route this year with Assassin’s Creed: Origins. There will be loot boxes present in the game, but before you roll your eyes too hard, …

Last month, it was revealed that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds would be receiving a CS:GO style crate system for cosmetic items. This caused quite a stir as previously the PUBG FAQ had stated that cosmetic microtransactions would only appear after the game leaves Early Access. Now, Brendan Greene, the lead on the …