While some European countries have banned loot boxes as a form of illegal gambling, legislative efforts to regulate the practice in some US states (and the US Senate) have by and large stalled after gaining some momentum in 2018 and 2019. Promoted Comments Despite resembling a lottery, loot boxes are not classified as gambling in the UK. So far, the UK Gambling Commission has accepted industry arguments that because the items inside are only used in the game, loot boxes shouldn’t be seen as gambling. There has also been no mention of this issue in the latest DCMS announcement on the Online Safety Bill. The use of loot boxes, which can be highly lucrative for games companies, has come under increased scrutiny in recent years but remains legal in the US.

class-action loot-box settlement with in Epic will pay off class-action loot-box settlement with in

Cabined Accounts that provide a tailored experience that is safe and inclusive for younger players while they wait for parental consent.

A marketing bargain?

The ever-popular loot box concept is present in pretty much every modern online shooter, but only in the PvE (player-versus-environment) Save the World half of Fortnite. Epic Games You earn loot boxes from regular play Over the past few years, we’ve been making changes to ensure our ecosystem meets the expectations of our players and regulators, which we hope will be a helpful guide for others in our industry.

Epic giving out virtual currency after loot box settlement

The company will begin distributing the rewards today after it received confirmation of preliminary approval for its class action settlement in the Superior Court of North Carolina, ahead of a final approval hearing in May. Epic, for its part, "denies each and every allegation of wrongdoing, liability, and damages asserted in the Action, and Epic Games denies that the claims in the Action would be appropriate for class treatment if the litigation were to proceed through trial."

There have never been pay-to-win or pay-to-progress mechanics in player-versus-player experiences in Fortnite. And we eliminated paid random-item loot boxes in Fortnite: Save the World in 2019.

Epic Games settles lawsuit over loot boxes in Fortnite - CNET Epic Games settles lawsuit over loot boxes in Fortnite - CNET

Buying boxes isn’t explicitly required to advance in Save the World, but the various boosts and items will help later in the game. Survivors and heroes are of the utmost importance late in the campaign because you can assign different squad members for each mission and capitalize on their specific strengths. Having a bigger squad means more answers for whatever each mission might throw at you. You can buy loot boxes Seasons last roughly 70 days (based on an estimate for the now-completed Season 2) but are subject to change. Epic Games Silver and gold battle pass tiers Epic GamesThese random item draws, often colloquially referred to under the umbrella of loot boxes, have been the subject of both a lawsuit against the company and governmental scrutiny over the last few years, though Epic overhauled its loot box approach in January 2019. The Verge reports that a final approval hearing is scheduled for May, and lawyers representing both Epic and the plaintiffs in this class action expect the settlement to be approved as-is. Loot Boxes have come under fire in the past couple of years, particularly in Europe where individual legislatures investigated and sometimes banned the system. In recent years live-service games have transitioned to adopting battle pass systems that offer specific rewards in exchange for completing specific challenges or progressing to a specified level.