Belgium’s Gaming Commission recently announced it was looking into whether the current trend of loot boxes appearing in AAA games such as Overwatch and Star Wars Battlefront II could be considered a form of gambling, and now the results of that investigation are in.
While this is no doubt welcome news for those who would like to see the growing presence of paid loot boxes in full-price games come to an end, the Commission’s findings still have to go through the European Union and any blanket ban would almost certainly be challenged by the gaming industry’s biggest publishers. That being said, many of the heavy hitters will no doubt want to avoid the situation EA have ended up in, who not only had to remove the paid element of Battlefront II’s controversial loot box system following player and press outrage, but have now seemingly incurred the wrath of US politicians. Hawaii State Representative, Chris Lee, yesterday labelled the presence of loot boxes in games a “predatory practice”, and called for legislation to be introduced that changes the way they are sold in games. “This game is a Star Wars-themed online casino designed to lure kids into spending money. It's a trap.” He said, channeling Admiral Ackbar. “And this is something we need to address to ensure that particularly kids who are underage, who are not psychologically and emotionally mature enough to be able to gamble [...] are protected from being trapped into these cycles,” he continued. “We're looking at legislation this coming year which could prohibit access or sale of these games to folks who are underage in order to protect families, as well as prohibiting different kinds of mechanisms in those games.” It’s not only Hawaii looking into taking such action, apparently, with Chris Lee confirming that he has been talking with “several other” US states and legislators about addressing the loot box issue before it becomes “the norm for every new game.” You can catch the highlights from the press release detailing Lee’s stance on Battlefront II’s controversial loot box system in the video below. Is this the beginning of the end for loot boxes in AAA games? Let us know your thoughts on the situation below.
Ubisoft have revealed that another year of content is coming to Rainbow Six Siege and a special event will be taking place in season 1. The Year 2 season pass can still be purchased up until 11 December and includes this year's 8 operators and a series of exclusive customisation options. After this date, the Year 2 operators are still available to buy using in-game renown but those customisation items are gone forever.
The first season of new content starts with Operation Chimera. It brings in "specialists in biohazard situations" and a special limited-time mode named Outbreak. This will be a co-op event which features an exclusive collection of cosmetics that are only available during the four weeks it's live. More will be revealed about Operation Chimera and Outbreak during the Six Invitational 2018 in February. Are you looking forward to more content? Getting a zombie vibe from Operation Chimera and Outbreak? Share your thoughts with us below or over in the forums. ENDED: Gears of War giveaway20/11/2017
Robby Bisschop (@Bloodyspasm) is the winner of our Gears of War giveaway!
Those with an active Xbox Live Gold subscription can now take advantage of the Black Friday sale, a few days ahead of everyone else.
For the stealth aficionado, we recommend Dishonored 2, Assassin's Creed Origins and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Sports fans are well catered to with both Fifa 18 and Pro Evo 18, as well as a few other non-football games. If horror is your thing State of Decay and The Evil Within 2 should be enough to scratch that particular itch. For something a little less serious, you could pick up Lego City Undercover or Lego Worlds. For something far less serious, there's South Park: The Fractured But Whole. You can find the full list of titles on sale here. See anything you like? Let us know what you plan on purchasing below or over in the forums. Sleep Tight is a cutesy, twin-stick shooter with base building elements from a team of industry, and Hollywood, veterans. In a similar fashion to Fortnite, you'll spend the day building pillow forts and reinforcing your base. After dark, you'll be forced to defend yourself from the onslaught of monsters using dart guns, water balloon launchers, remote controlled turrets and other toys. Burman is enthusiastic about the upcoming title, stating:
"Since I was a kid, I always wanted to make games. After 10 years of working on other people's projects, it was time to make my own, and I wanted to go back to that feeling of pure play. I feel fortunate to work with such talented artists to bring this Pixar-esque world to life. I think it's an experience that will appeal to the young at heart, no matter their age." Sleep Tight is set to release on PC and Switch early next year. What do you think of the trailer? Let us know below or over in the forums. Warner Bros. have revealed release dates and details for the free DLC coming to Shadow of War in the coming weeks.
Further free updates include the ability to challenge another player’s Orc follower to an arena deathmatch for powerful rewards and upgrades from 5 December, while a higher difficulty level is being added on 12 December that is said to be “even more challenging than Nemesis with no last chances.”
The first of Shadow of War’s paid DLC also arrives this month, and sees the Slaughter Tribe added to the game. Let us know your thoughts on Shadow of War’s upcoming free content below or in the forums. Injustice 2 now available for PC15/11/2017 PC players can partake in some superpowered sparring as Injustice 2 is now available via Steam and the Microsoft Store.
All previously released DLC fighters are included in the Ultimate Edition, available through Fighter Pack 1 and 2, or can be purchased separately, with the exception of Hellboy who will be arriving at a later date.
The roster will be further bolstered with the addition of 3 new combatants in the near future. The recently announced Fighter Pack 3 will add The Atom, Enchantress and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Will you be picking this up on PC? Looking forward to the new characters? Let us know below or over in the forums. DICE have responded to the latest controversy surrounding Star Wars Battlefront II’s progression system.
“There’s been a lot of discussion around the amount of in-game credits (and time) it takes to unlock some of our heroes, especially Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader,” read the post by John Wasilczyk, Executive Producer at DICE.
“Unlocking a hero is a great accomplishment in the game, something we want players to have fun earning. We used data from the beta to help set those levels, but it’s clear that more changes were needed. So, we’re reducing the amount of credits needed to unlock the top heroes by 75%.” Instead of costing 60,000 credits, Vader and Luke will now only require 15,000, while heroes such as Palpatine, Chewbacca and Leia are going for 10,000. The game’s own protagonist, Iden Versio, now costs 5,000 credits to unlock rather than 20,000. Although news of the reduction will be welcomed by those who found the price of the game’s heroes too steep, it’s worth noting that the amount of credits players are awarded for completing the campaign have, apparently, also been reduced, from 20,000 to 5,000. DICE will be hosting a Reddit AMA tomorrow, giving players the chance to put forward their questions regarding the game’s progression system to key figures from the studio ahead of its full launch this Friday. Let us know your thoughts on the latest Battlefront II controversy below. Those with EA Access have spent some time playing Star Wars Battlefront II's early access trial and not everyone is happy with the changes that have been made.
EA responded to one user who complained about paying $80 and having Vader locked behind a paywall or a hefty grind.
"The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes. As for cost, we selected initial values based upon data from the Open Beta and other adjustments made to milestone rewards before launch. Among other things, we're looking at average per-player credit earn rates on a daily basis, and we'll be making constant adjustments to ensure that players have challenges that are compelling, rewarding, and of course attainable via gameplay. We appreciate the candid feedback, and the passion the community has put forth around the current topics here on Reddit, our forums and across numerous social media outlets. Our team will continue to make changes and monitor community feedback and update everyone as soon and as often as we can." That response didn't go over to well and currently has a little over 300,000 downvotes, probably a few more by the time you read this. The EACommunityTeam account has been trying to put out a lot of fires over the weekend without much success. Have you tried Battlefront II? How do you feel about the progression system? Let us know below or over in the forums. Tekken 7 is getting another DLC character in the form of Final Fantasy XV protagonist Noctis, who comes complete with his signature Engine Blade. Noctis isn’t the only familiar character set to make a cameo in a fighting game however, as Warner Bros. and NetherRealm recently detailed the new characters coming to Injustice 2 as part of the game’s third and final Fighter Pack. The Atom, Enchantress and the legendary Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will all be making their way to the game in the near future, and from what we see in the reveal footage it looks like the turtles will fight as a team, rather than individually. Let us know your thoughts on the new arrivals coming to both Tekken 7 and Injustice 2 below or over in the forums.
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