Less than what?
Who is still doing loot boxes? Valve, for sure, they still have them on CounterStrike, sports games and then... what? Hearthstone/Magic and that type of CCG stuff and... I guess mobile gacha RPGs?
Everybody else is doing battle passes now.
Hirom@beehaw.org 3 weeks ago
A majority of Android and IOS games, and 36% of PC games according to a study.
MudMan@fedia.io 3 weeks ago
That site raises so many flags on my security software, but I went ahead and opened it elsewhere and... can't find a source. What is "a recent study"? 2024? 2020? Do you have a primary source?
Hirom@beehaw.org 3 weeks ago
The link above is the primary source, they mention “OUR recent study”. The article publication date is February 2025, but they don’t give the exact date on their study.
Even if that figure already decreased since the study, or was overestimated, would it change the point of the regulation?
If less mobiles games integrated loot boxes, let’s say 50%, or even 30%, would change whether loot boxes is gambling or not? Or worth regulating?
MudMan@fedia.io 3 weeks ago
Well, no, it can be a report of the authors of the study, but if they don't publish the study I don't know what they're talking about. I didn't poke around much, because if all my security is blocking content and blaring warnings it's probably not a great idea, but at a glance in the direct link I didn't find a link to the contents of the report proper.
To your question, it wouldn't change whether loot boxes are gambling, in that my position is that they are not regardless. It also wouldn't change whether they're worth regulating, in that my position is age ratings agencies should have a policy about it, but that's about it.
But in practical and political terms that's not what originated the panic in the first place, so whether the presence of loot boxes is growing or shrinking does go towards whether the PR impact of abusive practices and self-regulation is sufficient to address the issue.