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And so it begins. 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...
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 o...
Credit// Hi-Rez Studios The Paladins Cards Unbound update back in November made major changes to the way the game’s stat-boosting cards are obtained and used, angering many of its players. According to one anonymous source within developer Hi-Rez Studios who reached out to IGN, the update w...
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 g...
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...
Technically, Hoshi no Dragon Quest features a gacha system, but the Japanese gacha system is very similar to western games’ loot boxes. That said, 8 players are seeking a class action lawsuit against developer Square Enix over the gacha system in Hoshi no Dragon Quest. Now, because this i...
The loot box saga continues as a Washington state Senator has presented a bill designed to investigate whether or not randomized in-game items qualify as gambling. Gamasutra first picked up the news today, sharing an interview with News Tribune in which Senator Kevin Ranker says the bill ...
credit//Blizzard Because we just can’t get enough loot box controversies, this one features Blizzard’s hero shooter Overwatch which had a major cosmetics update this week consisting of over 100 items for all 26 heroes. The problem is that all of the new items are pretty scarce, and s...
Today the organizers of the 2018 Game Developers Conference have announced the results of a survey that included responses from nearly 4,000 professional game developers. What you’ll find most interesting are the results on interest in the Nintendo Switch and interest in loot boxes. It ...
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...
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...
Nestled within Apple’s new guidelines for App developers, which came out yesterday, was a note that requires all app developers to disclose loot box odds in games. Specifically, the new rules require that loot boxes be transparent about their odds of dropping each type of reward. “Apps o...
Hi-Rez Studios recently announced an updated progression system for its free-to-play hero shooter 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, ...
In an interview with Rolling Stone, the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) has joined the ESRB in their stance that microtransactions and loot systems are not a form of gambling. The quote came from a story where Hawaiian officials are contemplating putting a law into effect, banning them...
My, oh my, is this ever beautiful! Someone has created a mod of DOOM that makes fun of the entire loot box and microtransaction controversy. 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”...
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...
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 un...
