Epic Games-owned Psyonix says no to crate boxesPsyonix is the first company to voluntarily suspend the use ofboxesValve, the company that has inspired this in-game mechanic, stillhold onto them
Psyonix has becomethe latest developer to pull out the use of “loot boxes” out ofits flagship title, Rocket League.
Psyonix Suspends Use of Crate Boxes
Psyonix, the developing company behind trending esports title Rocket League, has announced that it is removing “loot boxes” from its game. Known as “crates,” in the game, Psyonix is joining Epic Games, Fortnite’s creators and present company owners, in a move to limit the potential for g lodi291 ambling harm among gamers.
The decision is in stark contrast with EA’s prolonged fight with Belgium and Dutch authorities over keeping loot boxes in FIFA 19 in the two countries. Crates first appeared in Rocket League in 2016, inspired by Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive similar mechanics.
As fate would have it, Valve were among the first to suffer the consequences of allegedly facilitating underage skin trading worth hundreds of thousands of dollars back in 2016. As a point of clarification, “skins” are cosmetic improvements that mostly don’t enhance a player’s performance in any way.
Announcement time: Crates will be leaving Rocket League later this year. Check out our blog for the official announcement. https://t.co/NdIX4054bp pic.twitter.com/LYud8NVuAf
— Rocket League (@RocketLeague) August 6, 2019
Back to Rocket League, players were allowed to use in-game currency to open crates with special keys available in-game. One of the ways to find keys was through purchase with real-life currency, which has worried some that it resembled gambling.
Intheir terse statement, Psyonix said:
“Hereat Psyonix, and Epic Games as a whole, we are dedicated to creatingthe best possible experience for our players all over the world.”
A Community Divided
Where some people were happy with Psyonix’sdecision, others had a rather more miffed tone of voice. A Twitteruser Sufyaan had this to share:
You must have good crate luck then. Out of the 250+ crates I've opened, I've only got 2 Black markets. 1 was like Hextide which sold for 33k and the other is solar flare which was recent so it's worth fuck all.
— Sufyaan ➐ (@ScintillaRL) August 6, 2019
Hewas responding to another user, Buckleywho said that they were happy with the crates, as it would allowedthem to obtain items cheaply. Sufyaan argued that he had not had thesame general experience.
The discussion then continued with the exchange of varying opinions. Epic Games revealed plans to acquire Psyonix on May 1, 2019. That was two months after the company had decided to reconsider its own loot boxes system.
Inthe case of Psyonix, Epic Games has acted pre-emptively, avoidingfuture complications in a timely fashion.
Right and Wrong
There have been debates going about whether such mechanics should be allowed in games accessible to an underage audience. Even though organizations such as the UK Gambling Commission has ruled against loot boxes being a form of gambling, there have been others to express this concern.
