Loot boxes made big headlines in 2017 when EA released Star Wars Battlefront II and received a huge amount of backlash for including a very robust loot box system that made player progression painfully slow for gamers who didn't spend money. There was a big uproar in the gaming community, EA's stocks took a hit, and an international conversation started about the morality and implications of loot boxes in games.
Now it seems that Apple has jumped into the fire by updating its App Store review guidelines that will affect developers that want to make free-to-play games with a loot box system.
Apple's new stance
The App Store Review Guidelines are set by Apple to ensure the apps that are making it on to the App Store are up to their standards, and these rules get updated over time.
In the most recent update, Apple included this provision:
"Apps offering 'loot boxes' or other mechanisms that provide randomized virtual items for purchase must disclose the odds of receiving each type of item to customers prior to purchase."
This move appears to be about transparency and (to some degree) protecting consumers. You can make the argument that knowing the odds (particularly how slim they may be), will decrease the incentive to purchase.
There is a growing number of people who feel loot boxes are gambling and should be treated as such. The randomized nature of loot boxes that have the potential to give you a very good in-game perk can make them quite appealing. Some countries have even been talking about labeling loot boxes as gambling, meaning games that include loot boxes would have to follow way stricter rules and wouldn't be allowed to be sold to minors.
Free-to-Play is commonplace on App Store
Free-to-play games that use systems like this are a dime a dozen on the App Store. Heck, some of my personal favorite games that came out this year — Fire Emblem: Heroes, The Elder Scrolls: Legends, and Star Wars: Force Arena — all have a loot box reward system. It's a very common revenue model for a lot of developers and it's massively successful.
Although the EA debacle was a little bit of a different beast — paying $60 bucks for a game that includes a loot box system didn't sit well with people — free-to-play games iPhone and iPad games on the App Store face a lot of the same criticism on loot boxes.
What's your take away?
This is a huge ongoing debate in the gaming community right now, and I want to know your take on the situation! Do you think loot boxes are evile or are you fine with them? What do you think of Apple's new rule concerning Loot boxes? Let me know in the comments below!
