As the public and legislative pressure surrounding microtransactions and loot boxes grows, so too does the impetus to do something about the problem that they present. More and more gamers are starting to wake up to the fact that loot boxes are just gambling. And even though some entities and companies still have their head
After Nepal voted to ban another popular battle royale title, gamers and fans of various games have been really nervous about the future of the genre. And even before that, the looming specter of legislation, especially in response to depicted violence or predatory monetization, has been a constant issue within the games industry. And now,
The German government is infamous for heavy censorship laws and crackdowns on certain business practices, and this week that trend continues with new legislation concerning pre-order offers on video games. he ruling came from the Higher Regional Court in Munich following a court case surrounding the pre-order sales of smartphones. This was brought to light
France may soon take action against loot boxes, and they’re not alone. An analysis of the French report courtesy of media law associate Sebastian Schwiddessen has helped push the issue of loot boxes and gambling in video games back to the forefront. The ARJEL’s response is pushing for a vote on what course of action
OK, so that headline is a bit of an exaggeration, loot boxes are still in Valve games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and DOTA 2, but because of increasing legislative pressure from Dutch officials, Valve pulled access to loot boxes in The Netherlands. Dutch players in these games will get a notice explaining the decision when
Even though other countries like the US and UK have trouble classifying loot boxes, that doesn’t appear to be an issue in Belgium. The investigation looked at Star Wars Battlefront 2, FIFA 18, Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, finding only that Battlefront 2 weren’t in violation because that title had removed loot boxes. The justification
The Dutch Gaming Authority, the body responsible for administering gambling and games of chance in the Netherlands, has finished an investigation into loot boxes in video games. And citing that investigation, the body has ruled that multiple games may be in violation of gambling and related rules within the country. Interested readers can find an
Three game companies, including free-to-play giant Nexon, have been penalized by South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission over the use of loot boxes. Nexon, NextFloor and Netmarble have been fined a total of around $1 million over deceptive in-game item sales, mostly focusing on loot boxes. The lion’s share of the burden falls on Nexon, who
Some of you may remember that the ESRB infamously said that video game loot boxes are no different to booster packs in collectible card games. They made that distinction to justify no labeling of loot boxes in games they rated. Now, the ESRB is apparently backpedaling slightly and allowing games to be classified for “in-game
According to a Rolling Stone report, during the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing, US Senator Maggie Hassan educated committee members on the dangers of loot boxes and also issued a letter to the ESRB President Patricia Vance. Even though the ESRB has previously said they have no issue with loot boxes, this new wave
The loot box disaster that has imploded all over the gaming scene these last few months just got more complicated. New Zealand’s Gambling Compliance office of its Department of Internal Affairs has stated its position on the matter. In a letter to Gamasutra, the department has stated that loot boxes “do not meet the definition of gambling”.
The discussion on loot boxes continues this week as multiple nations weigh in on the issue. Not only have both Belgium and The Netherlands launched official investigations into the matter, legislators in the US state of Hawaii have announced intent to address the problem of loot boxes. Star Wars Battlefront 2 made headlines when it
Earlier this week, we reported on a move by the Belgian Gaming Commission to investigate lootboxes in games like Star Wars Battlefront 2 to determine whether they constitute games of chance to the degree that they require regulation meant for gambling. Now it appears the Dutch have joined in. The debate over loot boxes often
As originally reported by VTM (via Gamasutra), the general director of the the Belgian Gaming Commission, Peter Naessens, told the local news outlet the commission is investigating whether the loot box mechanisms used in Battlefront 2 and Overwatch should be branded as gambling. The raging debate over loot boxes, and whether they should be considered
Daniel Zeichner, Labour MP for Cambridge, has submitted two questions with regards to loot boxes and whether they can be deemed as gambling Ove the last several months, a debate has been raging over loot boxes. Not over whether the odds were fair, but whether the mechanics were manipulative enough to be considered gambling. The
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