Belgium's Gaming Commission is attempting to ban loot boxes in Video Games outright in Europe by proving that the micro-transactions in "Star Wars: Battlefront II" and "Overwatch" constitute gambling, according to VTM news.
It's all EA's fault!
According to the news report, it started when the commission launched an investigation into loot boxes last week. It was done in response to the recent controversy with "Star Wars: Battlefront II" where game includes loot boxes with a pay-to-win mechanic that can adversely affect progression.
Although EA DICE has removed in-game purchasing from the game, the loot boxes still remain and the change is only temporary as EA DICE plans to use player feedback to adjust them before restoring them in a later update.
However, EA DICE's decision was not in response to mass consumer outcry. Rather, it was a decision made in response to Disney, the owner of the "Star Wars" property. On behalf of the latter, Jimmy Pitaro, head of Disney consumer products and interactive media, sent word to EA about his company's concern over the matter.
In wake of the back peddling, EA has also adjusted the progression system in "Need for Speed: Payback," another one of their games that uses micro-transactions.
Overwatch Loot boxes aren't exempt!
Although Blizzard's "Overwatch" is also being investigated, its micro-transactions differ from "Star Wars: Battlefront II" in terms of content. The loot boxes in Blizzard's heroic shooter yield strictly cosmetic items that change only the characters' appearances.
But the Belgium commission believes that microtransactions, in general, constitute gambling, hence, the game's inclusion in the investigation.
Mixing money and addiction
The commission revealed that its aim is to prove that microtransactions constitute "the mixing of money and addiction" similar to gambling machines found in casinos, and therefore serve as another form of gambling.
Belgium's Minister of Justice Koen Geens believes that if players - especially young children - are not provided with accurate information on the nature of the microtransactions then they should be banned. "Mixing gambling and gaming, especially at a young age, is dangerous for the mental health of the child," Geens added.
Geens also revealed that the commission is planning to take their findings abroad in hopes to ban micro-transactions in throughout Europe. "We will certainly try to ban [loot boxes]," Geens said, according to PCGamer. The commission's ruling has not yet been finalized.