Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Take-Two For “Deceptive” NBA 2K Lootboxes

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Take-Two Interactive, specifically against the NBA 2K games’ use of lootboxes.

According to Bloomberg, the lawsuit primarily targets the vulnerability of minors to lootboxes in NBA 2K – and was filed on behalf of one such minor and her guardian.

The complaint filed says Take-Two’s “unfair, deceptive, and unlawful practices, including illegal gambling practices, deceive, mislead, and harm consumers”.

It also goes on to say that the whole system of buying currency to buy lootboxes “psychologically distance” minors from the financial implications of their actions.

This class-action lawsuit is seeking 5 million USD in damages, and lawyers from neither side have commented on the matter.

This is far from a new argument- critics against loot boxes have brought up in the past that these effects are especially bad in minors, who are more likely to be pressured into spending their parents money in games.

The argument has carried well enough that Belgium famously banned lootboxes- classifying the mechanic as a form of gambling even though you technically get nothing of monetary value out of it since loot box rewards can’t be resold.

Loot boxes and their sister mechanic, gacha, are incredibly profitable- seeing implementation in a variety of games from Overwatch to Genshin Impact and showing strong financial results when implemented in a popular game.

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