In a recent Congressional oversight committee hearing, Senator Maggie Hassan requested that the Federal Trade Commission make a full investigation into the practice of loot boxes in video games.
Back in February, Hassan asked that the Entertainment Software Rating Board re-examine how video games with loot boxes are rated, and to change the ratings of such games accordingly. Hassan has been very outspoken on this issue and her assertion that loot crates are little more than gambling, and she is not the only one. Many government officials and agencies around the world have taken closer looks on the practice of loot boxes in video games, and it isn’t looking too great for them. Many find them to be highly predatory toward the addictions of people. The debacle entered the spotlight back in 2017, with the disaster that was ‘Star Wars: Battlefront 2’ and its loot box system. Since them, console and mobile games alike have faced scrutiny. Apple now requires games with loot boxes to be transparent and list the drop rates where players can see them. Triple AAA titles such as ‘Overwatch,’ ‘FIFA,’ ‘NBA 2K’ and more have also had pressure put on them. EA is currently being investigated by Belgium authorities after refusing to comply with Belgium law and remove microtransactions from ‘FIFA.’
While most gamers are happy about this turn of events, others are weary. Microtransactions aren’t viewed very favorably by anyone except for the companies putting them into their games, however some gamers feel like government oversight is not the way to go. But the truth is, video game companies can’t be trusted to fairly police themselves on the matter. Microtransactions, are the biggest source of money in gaming. Industry juggernaut Activison Blizzard made $4 billion dollars from microtransactions alone last year. That is more money than they made from actual game sales. It would be unrealistic to expect companies such as Activision Blizzard to limit their microtransactions when it is their biggest cash cow. As such, it looks like the government will have to do it for them.
Now that the Federal Trade Commission has agreed to investigate loot boxes fully, this saga is sure to heat up.
