The regulatory battle against loot boxes and card packs in games continues. Just a week or so after reports that The Belgian Gaming Commission is hitting EA with a criminal investigation for not removing FIFA’s card packs from the game in that country, several gambling regulators have unified to tackle the problem.
The Belgian authorities have concluded that loot boxes in games are akin to gambling, and have made their inclusion in games illegal. EA has refused to remove FIFA's lootboxes, and could be under criminal investigation in the country as a result.
Belgian and Dutch lawmakers have decided that Loot boxes and their ilk are no different to gambling, which is why we’ve seen sweeping changes regarding the things in Benelux regions. Just recently 2K has changed the Loot box structure in NBA 2K18. Players in Belgium can no longer buy that game’s MyTeam packs with real money. The same now goes for Overwatch.
The highly acclaimed Forza Motorsport racing games had a bit of a stain on them with the last game. It wasn’t nearly as beloved as previous games, with complaints ranging from boring music, the removal of interesting classes, and a messy progression system. Most criticised of all though was the inclusion of loot boxes. Mods for cars came by way of Prize Crates – loot boxes - changing the way you earned cash for new cars. Those are now being yanked.
The conversation around loot boxes and in-game transactions is changing. While many players have always grumbled about their inclusion, people have accepted them as a necessary evil – even defending those that aren’t the most egregious. Consumers are slowly starting to realise they’re being taken for a ride.
After the debacle around Star Wars Battlefront II last year, Belgium is putting a ban on games with loot boxes akin to those in Overwatch, Counter-Strike and FIFA 18.
According to Dutch gambling authorities, many games do feature loot boxes that are effectively gambling.
EA has decided to finally remove Star Cards from loot crates in Battlefront II, bringing six months of pay-to-win microtransactions to an end.
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