Skip to main content

Game publisher Take-Two doesn’t think that loot boxes are gambling

Star Wars Battlefront II
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Loot boxes in video games have been a contentious topic over the last few months, as more and more titles relegate progression systems and rewards to what is essentially a randomized form of gambling — but if you were to ask Grand Theft Auto V and NBA 2K18 publisher Take-Two about loot boxes, it would have a different definition of gambling.

Speaking at a Credit Suisse event (via GameSpot), Take-Two president Karl Slatoff said that the company “[doesn’t] view [loot boxes] as gambling,” echoing statements made by the Entertainment Software Board.

Recommended Videos

Earlier this month, the ESA released a statement to Glixel, saying that “loot boxes are a voluntary feature in certain video games that provide players with another way to obtain virtual items that can be used to enhance their in-game experience,” and insisted that they weren’t gambling, in large part because they are optional.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

That might be the case in single-player games like Middle-earth: Shadow of War or when they’re for purely cosmetic items as they are in Overwatch, but this argument doesn’t seem to apply to Star Wars: Battlefront II. The game was initially scheduled to launch with a special currency that could be acquired using real money, which could then be spent on loot boxes that would exponentially increase the rate at which players could improve their character’s abilities. This put players who didn’t want to spend cash at a disadvantage, as they would have to play for hours on end in order to have the chance to earn similar stats.

At a Credit Suisse conference, Electronic Arts CFO Blake Jorgensen said that cosmetic items were not included in loot boxes in Battlefront II in order to avoid “violating the canon” of the franchise. He said the company needed to create a balance between those “with more time than money” and those “with more money than time.”

What Jorgensen is describing sounds a lot like the dreaded  “pay-to-win” EA needs to avoid, but it might not be the consumers that ultimately decide the fate of loot boxes in games. After the Belgian Gaming Commission opened an investigation into the practice, Hawaii state congressman Chris Lee announced he was investigating “predatory behavior” from game publishers, as well.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
ESRB to introduce new ratings label for games with loot boxes
Loot boxes in different games like Fortnite, Rocket League, PUBG, Dota 2

 

Games that include loot boxes and other types of microtransactions with random chance elements will now come with a warning on physical copies of games. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced that its regulatory board will begin adding a label that reads "In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)" on offending titles.

Read more
Among Us 3D brings first-person deception shenanigans to PC players
An Among Us imposter stands next to a dead body in Among Us VR.

You'll soon be able to play Among Us in first person on PC with the launch of Among Us 3D. Sort of a variant of Among Us VR, this new game allows Steam players to join lobbies with Meta Quest, PlayStation VR 2, Steam VR, and Pico users. Over the next few months, all Among Us VR branding will be changed to Among Us 3D.

"The launch of Among Us VR gave players the chance to step inside the game, bringing an entirely new level of suspense and hilarity to the social deduction experience,” said Victoria Tran, Community Director at Innersloth. “This crossplay feature strengthens our amazing community, making it easier than ever for players to team up—or backstab each other—regardless of their platform."

Read more
Newegg is selling a prebuilt gaming PC with RTX 4060 for $800
The ABS Cyclone Aqua gaming PC on a white background.

You don't need to spend more than $1,000 to get a dependable machine from gaming PC deals. You just need to be patient in looking for incredible offers like this one from Newegg: the ABS Cyclone Aqua for only $800, following a $200 discount on its sticker price of $1,000. This gaming desktop won't stay available at 20% off for long though, so if you're interested, we highly recommend adding it to your cart and completing the checkout process as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the ABS Cyclone Aqua gaming PC
The ABS Cyclone Aqua will let you play the best PC games without any issues, as it's powered by the 13th-generation Intel Core i5 processor and the Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, alongside 32GB of RAM that's plenty for most gamers, according to our guide on how to buy a gaming desktop. You'll also get a 1TB SSD with this gaming PC, so you'll have lots of space to install your favorite titles and all their DLCs, and with Windows 11 Home pre-loaded, you can start doing that right away after hooking up the ABS Cyclone Aqua to the necessary peripherals.

Read more