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Author: kjnoren

Jan 20th 2018 at 1:45:35 PM

@Camwood: I'm going to assume that this is limited to the paid (in some way) loot boxes here; I also think this should receive a better name than the proposed one. It should possibly also have a redirect from gacha (as a pre-existing name).

A loot box is a MysteryBox that requires some out-of-gameplay action to purchase. The action might be an actual monetary transaction, watching some ad, recommending the game to a friend, or some other action that involves the player in some capacity taking a non-gameplay action. The contents of a loot box can be both gameplay items or include new classes or gameplay skins.

The first clear examples of this mechanic are the Chinese ZT Online (2007) and Canadian FIFA 09 (2008). In The Far East it would soon come to dominate the mobile and browser gaming markets, where it's known as "gacha" after the toy capsule machines.

Paid loot boxes are contentious since it can be seen as a way of BribingYour WayToVictory, and  this randomized method of aquisition is viewed as gambling and regulated as such by countries some countries (like China and Japan).