Valve’s latest update for Dota 2 changes how the free-to-play MOBA’s loot boxes work. It now discloses the odds for the rare items that have a chance of dropping in each box, following in the footsteps of other companies amid growing public concerns over loot boxes’ similarity to gambling.
After days of players complaining of a rare item not dropping in Dota 2’s latest loot box, Valve put out a statement overnight confirming that they were right: Theories that the loot box was bugged weren’t sour grapes, but actually true.
Players in the Netherlands can now see what’s inside a Dota 2 loot box before opening it. The change is part of Valve’s shifting approach to how it handles microtransactions in some European countries that have made moves to regulate gambling in games.
Psyonix has revealed the drop rates for Rocket League’s loot crates. The studio says these haven’t changed since they were first added to the game back in September of 2016, and the rates track closely with various player estimates. The game’s battle pass arrives later this summer.
There’s finally a new Star Ocean game after 2016's barebones Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness. Unfortunately, Star Ocean: Anamnesis, the latest entry, free-to-play, only on smartphones, and a gacha game to boot. The first of those would be forgivable if not for the second, but as a slot machine for collecting…
Pay-to-win games are garbage. Loot boxes are passe. Cosmetics are cute, but not a great incentive to keep playing. Game publishers have cycled through a bevy of monetization gimmicks aimed at keeping gamers putting cash into their games, some more successful than others. Now, more and more of them seem to be…
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.
