A recent BBC investigation has concluded that the most popular mobile games in the UK ignore rules pertaining to the disclosure of loot box usage in video games.
Out of the 45 most popular loot box-containing video games currently being sold in the UK, only two advertise the presence of loot box shenanigans as they should under the current regulations.
The BBC checked the adverts for the top 45 highest grossing games on Google’s Play Store, which along with Apple’s App Store are where the vast majority of people access mobile games.
Of those 45, 26 were labelled as including loot boxes — 22 of which were being actively advertised at the same time.
However, only two of those titles spelt out the presence of the loot boxes in their ads.
Monopoly GO, the most successful game on Google’s Play store — with over 50 million downloads and over 3 billion dollars in transactions — does not correctly advertise its usage of loot boxes.
Loot boxes have been a huge problem in the world of non-mobile games for a while, but gamers grew so tired of them that even big companies have been rethinking the practice. Spending real money or even just playing incessantly to open a box that may or may not contain an extra item players want is an extra-awful game of carrot-on-a-stick, one that has proven harmful both to the gaming industry and the livelihood of players.
In the mobile scene, however, things are different, and games following highly addictive and costly loot box mechanics have been thriving for a while. The less immersive and more quick reward-oriented nature of mobile games proves fertile ground for this highly addictive and dangerous practice to fester, and festered it sure has.
The BBC has asked Hasbro to comment on the issue, but has yet to receive a reply.
Published: Nov 30, 2024 09:00 am