Rocket League fans who dislike loot boxes, your time has come at last. You’re going to like this next update - well, in theory, at least.
Now, it’s news to nobody familiar with the gaming industry that loot boxes, microtransactions, and season passes are just a shade on the controversial side. The anti-loot box outcry has been growing ever stronger, helped along by controversies like the whole pay-to-play debacle surrounding Star Wars Battlefront II.
It’s not just consumers complaining about corporate greed, though. In recent years, things have ramped up so much that governments around the world are campaigning to have loot boxes and microtransactions legally dubbed a form of gambling. And they are a form of gambling, really, if a player is paying out for a chance of maybe getting that Overwatch or Paladins skin they’d been coveting.
Borderlands 3, which is famously loot box-less, makes a snarky reference to this whole debate in the form of the Loot Boxer slot machine that appears in the game. Wherever particular gamers, developers, publishers, or politicians fall on the issue, though, one thing is for sure: loot boxes aren’t exactly going to do a game any favors. Hence, more and more titles have been nixing them, which brings us to Rocket League.
The latest update for the chaotic title is set to hit on December 4. When it does, players will notice a major change to the in-game store: Keys and loot boxes are going to disappear, to be replaced by a system of Blueprints and Credits.
What will this actually change in terms of how the game functions? Well, a new item store will be implemented, offering a frequently-updated selection of cosmetics. New wheels, banners, and the usual gubbins will be available to spend your credits on. Rocket Pass Premium will be present and correct, and you can also keep all of the items you’ve previously acquired using the old system. Any remaining Keys you happen to have, meanwhile, will be automatically exchanged for 100 credits.
How will this system go down with the community? Well, we won’t have long to find out. Rocket Pass 5 is also gearing up to arrive with the update!
Source: Rocket League