Bungie Is Removing Loot Boxes From Destiny 2
Loot boxes may still be prevalent in many games, but some developers are doing away with them, as paid loot boxes are being removed from Destiny 2.
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In the Destiny Developer Team’s 2020 Director’s Cut, a detailed report on the state of the game and vision for the future, one of the most important changes lies tucked away regarding the decision to remove paid loot boxes from Destiny 2. With Season 10, Bright Engrams will not longer be purchasable, but not altogether gone from the game.
Speaking about the decision, Luke Smith from the development team writes, “We want players to know what something costs before they buy it. Bright Engrams don’t live up to that principle so we will no longer be selling them on the Eververse Store, though they will still appear on the Free Track of the Season Pass.” Of all the design choices made by the team over the past year, this feels like one of the most significant.
Destiny 2 is not the first game to ditch the random loot box monetization method so prevalent in games today, but it is still noteworthy. Rocket League recently instituted the same change, removing all random elements from paid purchases, all of which empowers consumers to know exactly what they are receiving when spending money on microtransactions in a game.
These are examples of games that have had their loot boxes removed proactively, and reception has been nothing but positive from the player base. With that said, there are still plenty of games that feature loot box mechanics. The debacle with Apex Legends and the Iron Crown Event showed us extreme corporate greed to acquire cosmetic items, while other games like those in the FIFA series provide a direct competitive advantage with their pay-to-win loot boxes.
Certain companies, particularly EA, seem content to push as hard as they can to maintain their usage of loot boxes. Speaking to the UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, Kerry Hopkins, EA’s VP of legal and government affairs, stated that loot boxes were instead “surprise mechanics” that players loved to experience, like open a Kinder Surprise egg.
Luckily, it seems that consumers are becoming wise to these cancerous attitudes in the video game industry, and many developers are following suit. Loot boxes may still be prevalent in many games, but so too is the rise of the Battle Pass system seen in games like Fortnite. Rather than provide a random loot box in an experience akin to gambling, players can use the Battle Pass system and see exactly what they are purchasing from the beginning.
For fans of Destiny 2, the entire Developer Team’s 2020 Director’s Cut is worth a read.
Source: Bungie
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/destiny-2-loot-boxes-removal-season-10/