later this year, the developer announced Tuesday in an official post.The loot crates will be replaced by a system in which the player can see exactly what items they will be purchasing in advance. Specifically, the developer referenced the changes that Epic Games made to Fortnite (Epic Games acquired Rocket League developer Psyonix earlier this year), in which players can see what items are up for grabs before making a purchase with its X-Ray Llamas introduced earlier this year.
Loot boxes have often proved controversial, and Psyonix has endeavored to provide transparency in the past on its inclusion of randomized crates, having noted such issues three years ago when Psyonix first introduced its loot crate system to Rocket League.
“We are definitely aware of the problems related to third-party gambling in other games and we are not interested in taking that approach,” Psyonix vice president Jeremy Dunham noted when explaining why Steam Marketplace integration with loot crates was not enabled at the time.
Last year, Psyonix revealed the drop rate of items in Rocket League by rarity level. Later this year, players won’t have any questions about the contents of the loot crates, which safeguards Psyonix against accusations of preying on players’ hopes to make a quick buck.
Loot boxes, which contain a bundle of virtual items players can buy in exchange for real-world currency, have caused some controversy recently because of their comparisons to online gambling. Though the virtual items are often simply cosmetic add-ons, there is some concern that the randomized nature of loot box contents may encourage some players to keep buying loot boxes in the hopes of receiving rare items.
Questions from the public around loot box legality have forced developers to govern themselves in countries where no official decision on legality has been made. Developer responses have ranged from some opting to remove or adjust their loot box mechanics, to others continuing to support loot boxes. Psyonix is the most recent to announce its departure from randomized loot crates, as last year Turn 10 Studios announced it would remove prize crates from Forza Motorsport 7. On the opposite end, Electronic Arts has doubled down on its support of loot boxes. Earlier this summer, an EA exec praised the feature, calling them “surprise mechanics.”
The question of loot box legality has also left many governing bodies with the difficult task of assessing whether or not loot boxes constitute gambling— in which case, how should they be regulated? Belgium, for example, has determined that loot boxes that are up to chance are illegal and threatens hefty fines or even prison time for developers that don’t comply with its standards.
Psyonix will share a timeline of how it will institute the changes in the coming months.
Liz Lanier is a freelance games journalist. You can connect with her on Twitter.
