Over the last few months, the games industry has faced significant backlash regarding loot boxes. There is currently an ongoing debate about whether loot boxes are gambling and players have also raised concerns about pay-to-win mechanics, and whether loot boxes and microtransactions should be included in games at all.

Despite the ongoing controversy, a new survey of developers suggests that many still plan to include loot boxes in their games. Almost 4,000 developers were surveyed for the Game Developers Conference (GDC) State of the Industry 2018 report and asked questions about business models and platform launch plans.

The findings reveal that 11% of those surveyed (just over 1 in 10 developers) plan to include "paid item crates" (loot boxes) in their next game. Though many developers also stated that they would only be offering cosmetic items in these loot boxes, clarifying the loot boxes are earned by playing the game and that they would be properly balanced for gameplay too.

Almost half of all game developers surveyed (49%) said that their next game would be pay to download. Meanwhile, 23% said that their next game would offer paid-for downloadable content updates and 22% would sell in-game items for real money (or what is typically referred to as a microtransaction).

The conversation surrounding loot boxes and microtransactions has been incredibly heated over the last few months. Sparked by games like Star Wars Battlefront 2, which removed its microtransactions following mass outrage from fans, the conversation and debate has expanded to include games like Destiny 2 and Shadow of War.

The controversy is also thought to have affected game sales, too. For example, sales of Star Wars Battlefront 2 were down by over 60% compared to its predecessor, with many analysts chalking that down to the poor response to the game's business model. It suggests that including loot boxes in games comes with a real risk of upsetting players and losing sales because of it. This is perhaps why many of the surveyed developers seem to be deciding to use cosmetic-only loot boxes and taking extra care to balance them.

According to recent comments made by (former creative director of the Uncharted series) Amy Hennig, loot boxes are a result of rising industry costs. Considering Hennig's comments and this GDC survey, it seems that loot boxes may be here to stay for quite some time.

Source: Gamasutra