The term “Loot Crate” has been tossed around negatively the past couple of years, and for good reason. With a number of games implementing a pay-to-win format in the microtransaction system last year with AAA titles such as Middle Earth: Shadow of War, and most notably Star Wars Battlefront 2, developers have been forced to rethink how they can continue to make money off their games after they’ve released. Fallout from the issue of predatory microtransactions has also led to legal discussions about whether or not loot crates should be considered a form of illegal gambling, with one country in particular putting their foot down to ban the practice entirely.
One of the nations that’s labeled loot crates as illegal gambling is Belgium, and according to Extremetech, the country has requested the removal of all loot crate purchasing options from games. Publishers such as 2K and Blizzard have gone ahead and complied to the new laws, with respective games like NBA 2K19 and Hearthstone relying heavily on microtransactions as a means to generate further revenue. EA, however, has decided to test Belgian law, and has yet to remove the option to buy player packs in FIFA 18’s Ultimate Team mode.
Part of the reason for EA’s neglect to follow the new law reflects a prior statement from EA CEO Andrew Wilson on loot crates not being considered a form of illegal gambling. Wilson stated that player packs purchased cannot be sold for real-world currency, meaning the practice doesn’t constitute illegal gambling. Despite Wilson’s comments, FIFA Ultimate Team’s microtransactions do fall under the umbrella of the pay-to-win format of games like Star Wars Battlefront 2, which originally gave players the option to pay their way around having to grind for in-game credits for dozens of hours in order to unlock the online mode’s best heroes.
With FIFA 18 still allowing for player packs to be purchased, Belgium may look to pursue legal action against EA. Belgium law states that loot boxes that can be bought which offer randomized rewards constitutes as illegal gambling, which FIFA 18 clearly is doing. Any type of legal dispute could be a true test to the future of loot crates being offered in games in other countries. Given the popularity of FIFA in Europe, EA not being able to make money off one of their most popular game modes could cause a noticeable drop in their earnings on extra content, as a large portion of that revenue comes from Ultimate Team purchases.
Source: Extremetech.com
