New details around Call of Duty WWII's loot boxes suggest that more gameplay elements will be added to the random gamble, on the eve of real-world transactions being added to the game.

Lootboxes (and their associated microtransactions) are a contentious issue. While many appear to have no issues at all with the systemsome find them analogous to gambling. In Belgium, any sort of gambling - digital or not - needs to have a permit from the country’s gaming commission. They’re now investigating whether Star Wars Battlefront II (and Overwatch) lootboxes are akin to gambling.

Loot boxes are most likely here to stay for the foreseeable future however, with most publishers being more interested in games being platforms that encourage fans to spend on random rewards. It’s an idea which can easily be implemented in any game, but its potential seems to be tailor-made for RPGs whose entire goal is giving players the tools to grow stronger during the course of an adventure. RPGs like the upcoming Monster Hunter World. Fortunately, it seems like Capcom’s next big thing is bucking that trend.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is a game of treachery, domination and shaming. Lots and lots of it in fact, as a few weeks after launch and the numbers that have come in for the game have been nothing short of staggering.

Activision has won a patent that could allow them to alter matchmaking in online games in an attempt to entice players with microtransaction purchases.

There’s a growing consensus that in-game Loot Boxes should be regulated just like regular gambling. Only they’re not gambling, according to the ESRB. The company that handles the regulation and classification of content in the US says that loot boxes aren’t gambling.

In the wake of a flurry of reviews lambasting the inclusion of loot boxes in progression systems, OpenCritic is taking a harsh stand by gauging interest on tools to filter games from their aggregate results.

Rightfully criticised for locking a ton of its content behind a paywall, 2K Games was lambasted for dropping a stack of microtransactions into a game that already charged a premium price. It also sounds like they haven’t paid attention to angry fans, as WWE 2K18 will be locking plenty of its gear behind the Virtual Coin paywall again.