GameTech: Star Wars Battlefront II: Chance to win Loot Skywalker

What happens when the spoils of war start, well, spoiling war? That’s the biggest challenge facing the gaming industry as (nuclear?) winter looms. The scourge of loot boxes, the closest our industry has to opium for the masses, is attacking our troops from within.

Loot boxes rose to mainstream prominence last year with the release of Overwatch, but now they have permeated the frontlines of gaming and are present across a whole range of AAA titles. In Overwatch, the loot boxes are only ‘cosmetic’ and don’t affect gameplay, but that’s not the case in other titles like Need for Speed Payback, Shadow of Mordor and Star Wars Battlefront II.

A loot box, for those who didn’t receive the wire, is the equivalent of buying a packet of trading cards or a lucky dip bag, but in digital form. You pay real-world money for a chance to win items that might improve your game or change your character’s appearance. You don’t have any control over what is in your lucky dip, but there are ‘tiers’ of rewards available, ranging from common to rare. If you’re lucky, you’ll get something rare.