Psyonix, the developers of Rocket League has disabled loot box unlocking for players located in Belgium and Netherlands.
According to the latest patch, these players can no longer unlock loot crates using keys because of government regulations.
The statement went straight to the point plain and simple and didn’t explain anything further. It just mentions government regulations as the reason for the disabling of loot crates unlocking. This is buried deep within the patch notes, so readers would need to scroll further down.
The news isn’t much of a surprise since both countries have declared loot boxes as gambling and are therefore illegal.
And it’s not really the first time that companies are removing their loot box features because of local government regulations. Rocket League is just the latest to join the growing list of games removing this feature.
Last year, Blizzard also complied with local government regulations by disabling paid loot boxes from two of their games.
Players in Belgium would no longer be able to purchase in-game loot boxes for Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm. Valve also had to disable loot cases for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in Belgium and Netherlands.
At first, it was just with the paid loot crates, but then it also started affecting in-game currencies. ArenaNet also disabled gem purchases at Guild Wars 2 for residents at Belgium.
And at the end of January this year, Electronic Arts also suffered the same fate. It had to stop selling their in-game currency, FIFA Points, for players residing in Belgium as compliance with government authorities.
Konami also followed suit, a month after Electronic Arts’ move, for the in-game currency of Pro Evolution Soccer 2019.
Psyonix didn’t explain whether they implemented these changes to Rocket League as an initiative and precaution to the laws. They also didn’t mention if the local gambling commissions at Belgium and Netherlands contacted them directly.
Either way, it is pretty understandable for paid loot boxes or crates to be considered as gambling. The digital prizes that players get from it are random. They won’t know what they’ll get unless they purchase one and open it.
Some people get great rewards while some are unlucky. There are also games which give a really low probability of great rewards for their loot boxes. It is all mainly a game of chance which has similar mechanics and principles and closely mirrors casino games.
Other government regulators are also looking into loot boxes and how these are being used in games. The gaming community might be seeing more games and more countries implementing these regulations and disabling paid loot boxes.
