Rocket League to remove paid, randomised loot boxes

Psyonix has announced plans to remove paid, randomised loot boxes from Rocket League later this year.

In their place, the studio plans to introduce a more transparent system showing players what they’re buying in advance.

While it plans to share more details in the coming months, Psyonix said the changes are like those implemented by parent company Epic’s Fortnite Save the World team earlier this year.

Players can view the contents of Save the World’s loot boxes and if they’re not interested in purchasing them, they can wait until the store refreshes the next day and introduces a new selection.

Psyonix said the decision was made in the pursuit of “creating the best possible experience for our players all over the world”.

“Rocket Pass Premium, DLC Cars, and Esports Shop items will continue to be offered for direct purchase alongside our new system,” it added.

With proposed legislation targeting loot boxes in the US, the Federal Trade Commission is due to hold a public workshop looking into consumer issues surrounding loot boxes in Washington DC on Wednesday August 7.

In April 2018, the Netherlands Gaming Authority and the Belgian Gaming Commission declared that certain types of loot boxes were in violation of gambling laws, leading to a crackdown on their inclusion in games.

And in April 2019, Rocket League became the latest high-profile game to remove the ability for players in Belgium and the Netherlands to purchase loot boxes with real money.

As part of a recent ministerial inquiry into immersive and addictive technologies, the UK Gambling Commission said it doesn’t consider video game loot boxes to be a form of gambling because there’s no official way for people who purchase them to monetise their virtual contents.

It was announced in May that Rocket League will come to the Epic Games store in late 2019, following the Fortnite maker’s acquisition of Psyonix. At the time, Epic said the vehicular sports game had amassed a community of more than 57 million players since its release in 2015.