Psyonix will be jettisoning paid, randomised loot boxes – or Crates, as it calls them – from its hugely popular four-wheeled football game Rocket League later this year.
Crates were first introduced to Rocket League in 2016 (“to fund our eSports prize pools and events”, claimed Psyonix at the time), and can be acquired by completing online matches. Crates, which are tradable, award a single, random cosmetic item – from a set of possible options including vehicle bodies, decals, goal explosions, and wheels – but to open one, players are first required to purchase a key.
That will all change later this year though, according to a new statement on the Rocket League website. Psyonix says it will soon be removing all paid, randomised Crates from Rocket League and adopting a system similar to that recently implemented by Epic Games (which acquired Psyonix earlier this year) in Fortnite Save the World. The new monetisation scheme will enable players to see “the exact items [they’re] buying in advance”.