Yesterday, we informed you that the system of loot boxes (where you never know what is inside before you buy it) is under investigation by the Belgian Gaming Commission. It is unclear if the principle is not a form of gambling similar to slot machines or lottery tickets. Regarding the whole affair, mainly Blizzard’s Overwatch and EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront 2 was criticised for their microtransactions.

EA has immediately announced its own opinion that all the mechanisms are legit and are not gambling at all. They claim that the game does not force you to buy any upgrade and everything can be obtained by only game progression. The important difference is also the fact that compared to lottery tickets, you can be ALWAYS sure you will get some reward independently on its value.

“A player’s ability to succeed in the game is not dependent on purchasing crates. Players can also earn crates through playing the game and not spending any money at all. Once obtained, players are always guaranteed to receive content that can be used in game.“

The whole case became also more serious because the Dutch Gambling Authority from Netherlands started its own investigation. Due to that, EA has just temporarily removed microtransactions from Battlefront 2 together with the virtual currency, Crystals. It is most likely that it will be incorporated to the game again but according to the company, everything is now in the phase of finding the right balance and satisfaction of all the parties.

The detailed information can be found on the official website where you can also find eventual news or changes.

 

17. 11. 2017 22:15