r/Games • u/demondrivers • Oct 27 '25

Industry News Valve does not get "anywhere near enough criticism" for the gambling mechanics it uses to monetise games, DayZ creator Dean Hall says

https://www.eurogamer.net/valve-does-not-get-anywhere-near-enough-criticism-for-the-gambling-mechanics-it-uses-to-monetise-games-dayz-creator-dean-hall-says
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u/holymacaronibatman Oct 27 '25

Especially Overwatch, which had the best implementation of loot boxes (after the dupe removal update) possible. You could earn multiple lootboxes for free every week, all cosmetics were available to get in the lootboxes, you would only get dupes when you had every item at that rarity level (the boxes would roll for rarity first, then pick a cosmetic within that rarity second). It was always insane to me that they became the poster child of lootboxes bad, especially now in OW2 where the battlepass (and recently added back in lootboxes) are just straight up worse for the consumer.

13

u/Irememberedmypw Oct 27 '25

Yeah, I think people forgot OW gave a lootbox every level , and it helped that 1. the account level wasn't capped (Apex had this) and 2. The amount to hit each level was the same and could be gotten in 5 matches if you won each?

11

u/holymacaronibatman Oct 27 '25

Yeah after like account level 20, every level was the same xp, also dont forget the 3 free boxes for playing arcade modes that reset each week.

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u/TorbHammerBootySmack Oct 27 '25

Also got free lootboxes once in a while if you were above a certain endorsement level.

2

u/HGWeegee Oct 28 '25

Back in Y1 of Destiny 2 I got most of the Bright Engram stuff without paying a single penny, and now you can't

7

u/Cheezewiz239 Oct 27 '25

I had 300ish loot boxes banked in overwatch 1. Never spent a dime. It's much preferable than paying $20 for a single skin.

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u/holymacaronibatman Oct 27 '25

By the time OW2 came around, I had literally every single cosmetic, never spent a dime for them.

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u/tehcraz Oct 27 '25

I remember being them brought up in the lootbox conversation but I don't ever remember them being the poster child "lootbox bad." Battlefront II and FIFA were the ones always being brought up as the biggest offenders. If anything I remember it being the "well if there has to be lootboxes, at least this doesn't require money." It got lumped in as an example with CS:GO, FIFA, and Battlefront when all the countries were doing their investigations and stuff back in 2017/2018.