Mobile Game Devs To Disclose Odds For Gachas In Apple App Store

Gachas, loot boxes and those alike in mobile games are common nowadays. As such features would help the game developers or publishers earn, they are also fuelling or igniting a player’s addiction to gambling. With new cards or units that became must-haves in current games, players usually rush without a second thought to purchase the loot boxes to take a chance at getting the latest release.

However, Apple has recently announced a revision of guidelines for their App Store. This time, they are looking into the odds of loot boxes on what players could receive upon their supposed “high rates”. With that said, this rule applies to many popular mobile games out there which includes Hearthstone, Clash Royale, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and others which uses the loot box system.

Though the loot box system has been around for some time, some dissatisfied players who poured money into their favourite game has lashed out for not gaining the virtual, pixel item that they wanted. As loot boxes go, they are always providing players randomly generated items. Players have been warned that they may or may not get the virtual item they want. Thus the mass buying of the loot boxes to increase their chances of getting it. In which case has led some to classify such features as gambling, though the Entertainment Software Rating Board does not acknowledge it despite of its RNG nature.

Due to the rage over the loot box rates on the console game, Star Wars Battlefront II, EA had to temporarily remove all microtransactions in the game. Of course, that did not solve the case which led Apple to make their first move to review their App Store policy, helping game publishers and distributors avoid regulation from outside bodies. This could be the first step that could change future games to at least be transparent to players of the rates so that players are well informed of what they are actually getting before pouring their fortune into randomness.