Last night, the official Battlefield Twitter account published something interesting—a promise that not only will the makers of the upcoming Battlefield V refrain from charging for extra maps, they’re also going to avoid what has become the most toxic two-word phrase in gaming: Loot boxes.
QUOTE | “We’re working with all the industry associations globally and with regulators in various jurisdictions and territories, [and] have established that programs like FIFA Ultimate Team are not gambling.” - On Tuesday, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said regulators agreed with EA’s position that loot boxes aren’t gambling.
Loot boxes in FIFA 18, Overwatch, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are now illegal in Belgium, with the country’s legislators declaring today that if the games’ publishers don’t remove the offending microtransactions, people behind the games could face fines and even time behind bars.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp just got loot boxes in its latest update. Thanks, I hate it!
Three game companies—including online giants Nexon—have been fined almost one million dollars by Korea’s Fair Trade Commission over deceptive loot box practices.
Call of Duty: WWII’s March 13 update lets you hunt leprechauns, and it is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds. Sledgehammer Games has launched the “Operation: Shamrock and Awe” event just ahead of Saint Patrick’s Day, so there’s plenty of tacky gear, décor, and trolling leprechauns.
Is Donald Trump going to take away our video games? Are loot boxes going to go away? Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, let’s discuss.
The people who make Battlefield, just like many other developers across the video game industry, have heard the loot box furor loudly and clearly. The next Battlefield’s microtransaction plans remain in flux, as they are in many games until close to release, but it’s unlikely they’ll inspire as much anger as Star…
Riot Games revealed the drop rates for League of Legends’ loot crates yesterday, offering transparency for a system that until now has been opaque. This comes during a time when loot boxes have triggered a great deal of outrage among players, pundits, and even politicians.
Yesterday, Senator Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat, sent an open letter to the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) urging it “to review the completeness of the board’s ratings process and policies as they relate to loot boxes, and to take into account the potential harm these types of micro-transactions…
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: The addition of loot boxes to Ghost Recon: Wildlands has been met with a wave of criticism from fans.
Rainbow Six Siege players aren’t happy after Ubisoft announced the game’s next event, “Outbreak,” will include character items that can only be found in special new loot boxes. As you might imagine, longtime players are not thrilled.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has outlined new additions to its loot box system to go live on the game’s test server. In addition to disclosing the odds of getting different cosmetics, the patch notes also point toward a new type of microtransaction that will be making its way into the game in the future.
The market for loot boxes in Second Life has taken a hit as hackers use exploits to duplicate their contents and sell them at a discount according to a report by PC Gamer. The in-game makers of “gacha” gambling overlays say the cheating persists despite attempts by publisher Linden Lab to stop it.
Games seem to get bigger and more complex every year: more levels to explore, more enemies to fight, and more stuff to collect. And as 2017 showed, there’s now more stuff to buy than ever before as well.
Imagine a 17-year-old gamer tossing a copy of the Teen-rated Star Wars Battlefront 2 onto his local GameStop’s checkout counter, only to be asked: “Sir, may I see your ID?”
Josef Fares, director of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and the upcoming A Way Out, delivered a spirited, invigorated, profanity-powered speech at The Game Awards this evening, covering his real and true feelings on the Oscars and loot boxes. I can’t do it justice. Just watch and enjoy.
Star Wars Battlefront II has received negative feedback ever since it was confirmed that its loot crates provided in-game advantages. Since then, the game has disabled the ability to purchase crates with real money. Now, players will also receive more in-game rewards.
A new update to go live on Paladins’ public test server is already drawing a lot of criticism from some of the hero-based shooter’s most dedicated players. In addition to the normal gameplay tweaks, the OB64 patch introduces a new system for how players can use cards to customize their favorite characters and make…
