A new change in policy from Apple have brought some new changes to games that offer loot boxes. According to a report from Polygon, Apple is now requiring that any apps on the App Store that offer loot boxes must offer full disclosure of the odds to players that get different types of items from those boxes. This change comes from Apple’s official developer guidelines.
Apple’s official developer guidelines states that “Apps offering ‘loot boxes’ or other mechanisms that provide randomized virtual items for purchase must disclose the odds of receiving each type of item to customers prior to purchase.”
Loot boxes are a hot topic these days in video games. There’s now an ongoing debate about microtransaction and their place in games, as well as how appropriate they are. These debates also say that these items that are rewarded at random to players through digital loot boxes and whether they should be considered gambling. EA did the same thing in Star Wars Battlefront II and Bungie has done the same with Destiny 2 where microtransactions have overtaken games. EA disabled the scheme after public outcry, but Bungie on the other hand continues to press hard for micro transaction in Destiny 2 with their new Dawning winter event.
Apple’s newly introduced policy will mark it the first time a major company has required disclosure of odds from developers. There are a lot of games on iOS that offer loot boxes in them. While iOS may not have titles like Battlefront II and Destiny 2, there are plenty of games on he platform that are widely popular and offer loot boxes.
