Australia has long upheld some of the strictest game rating classifications on the planet, though a new bill just filed in Parliament will impose further restrictions on games with loot boxes. As reported byGames Industry.biz, the new legislation will amend the strict Australian Classification Board guidelines further, labeling any game with loot boxes to be R18+, Australia’s equivalent to the ESRB “Mature” rating. Furthermore, games with loot boxes may be denied classification entirely, which would effectively ban the game from sale in Australia.
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Ironically, as loot box regulation is close to becoming a reality, it was the mere threat of legislation that caused many game publishers to abandon the practice entirely.Overwatch 2removed loot boxesdespite the incredible success Blizzard had with them in the first game. A similar occurrence happened withRocket League, whichremoved loot boxes in 2019following the fallout of the political reports on the practice.
In the years since, developers have often opted to include a Battle Pass system in lieu of loot boxes. One of the biggest-selling franchises, Call of Duty, made the switch frompaid DLC to Battle Passesin 2019, which is a year that keeps getting mentioned when discussing loot boxes. However, one of the biggest supporters of the practice, EA, is still using a form of loot box with its FIFA Ultimate Team player packs.
At one point, Ultimate Team brought in millions of dollars of revenue for EA on a monthly basis. The game mode, which relies on players purchasing packs of digital cards to unlock players, was labeled asgambling in the Netherlandsand prompted theUnited States Congressto explore loot box regulations. After years of the threat of regulation hanging over publishers' and developers' heads, Australia’s government is finally poised to severely restrict the practice of offering loot boxes in video games.
