Can You Buy Luck? – Loot Boxes and the Gamble Built Into Your Game
This post is part of our ongoing series on dark patterns in video games. Just joining us? “When Games Play Dirty” is the place to start, and “The Great Trade-Off – In-Game Currencies and Microtransactions” is the direct predecessor to this article.
Let’s Start Simple: What Even Is a Loot Box?
Imagine walking into a store and buying a mystery bag. You know it contains something from a specific category — but you don’t find out what until you open it. Sometimes there’s something great inside. A lot of the time, though? Not so much.
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