Blizzard Entertainment CEO, Mike Morhaime, said in a recent interview at BlizzCon with Game Informer
that he doesn't believe that Overwatch's model of loot boxes belongs in
the current controversy that has been circulating in regards to the
issue.
Morhaime said, "I think
there’s absolutely nothing wrong with crates that give you randomised
items, I think that whatever the controversy is, I don’t think Overwatch
belongs in that controversy."
Overwatch's loot boxes offer various items such as sprays, voice lines,
skins etc but nothing that would fundamentally change the way the game
plays to make them any form of pay-to-win items. However, users still
invest a lot of money into these crates for the chance to get certain
items.
Due to this element of
chance when it comes to loot boxes this still technically makes
Overwatch's loot boxes part of the debate on whether this is a form of
gambling or not. Players are still taking a 'gamble' on what items they
might receive from a loot box that they purchase.
Morhaime said that in his opinion, not being able to convert loot boxes
into real-world money is a "critical element" in actual gambling. This
is something that players can't do in Overwatch compared to games like
CS: GO where players do make real-world money from selling their
rewards, for this reason, Morhaime believes that Overwatch doesn't
count.
In a recent Funhaus Dude
Soup Podcast, 'Video-Game Attorney' Ryan Morrison outlined that in his
professional opinion, generally speaking, if there is some form of
consideration (if players can put money or items in a game), some form
of chance and some form of value (money or otherwise) that a player can
win then it falls under the umbrella of gambling.
The first two points are quite easy to follow but the third point on
what is actually considered value is what is very much up in the air. As
there isn't a definitive answer to what actually counts as value this
is where a lot of judges tend to struggle with the whole loot box
controversy.
As we stated above,
Overwatch players don't have the ability to sell their skins to other
players so therefore the reward technically has no value. However,
Morrison states that even though there isn't a value in terms of
currency, it might still be of value to the player which is why he
believes that even Overwatch's loot boxes, although on the lesser end of
the scale, would count as gambling.
It's worth noting that Ryan Morrison is speaking generally about how
states in the U.S. would regulate gambling. With each country operating
under different laws around gambling, it's hard to really pinpoint what
is and isn't legal.
This is a
debate which has been growing with more and more games including some
form of loot boxes for players to purchase. Do you think that even
Overwatch's loot boxes count as a form of gambling? Let us know in the
comments below.
You can also check
out the Dude Soup Podcast down below to see what else Morrison said
about loot boxes and why he believes that they're a form of gambling.
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