Since Star Wars Battlefront 2, video games with loot boxes have been under intense scrutiny, including Paladins: Champions of the Realm. The Overwatch-like game recently introduced a loot box system called Cards Unbound that was accused of being pay-to-win. After months of complaints, which included fans uploading "bad fan art" on Reddit as a means of protest, Hi-Rez Studios has decided to remove loot boxes from the game.

This is according to Chris Larson, who is now serving as executive producer for Paladins: Champions of the Realm. Larson explained that while the loot boxes in Paladins resulted in increased player engagement, new user conversion, and revenue per player, they have still caused issues with the community.

"We know this system has angered many of our most loyal fans and become a point of continuous contention in the Paladins community (and even inside of Hi-Rez). Your voice has been heard loud and clear. Our team will be working over the next major release cycle to remove Cards Unbound from the game. We will be replacing it with a new system that I believe the community will be really excited about -- including the re-introduction of the deck building point system, and a method for obtaining cards that will be way less grindy."

This announcement will likely be met with enthusiasm from the Paladins community. After all, loot boxes continue to be a controversial topic in the gaming community and even outside the industry, with various governments introducing legislation designed to restrict or outright ban the use of loot boxes in games. Perhaps Hi-Rez believes that some of this legislation will come to pass, which is why it is deciding to remove loot boxes from the game now instead of later.

Besides touching on the subject of loot boxes, Larson also offered an update on the upcoming battle royale mode. Hi-Rez is going to be making some "aggressive changes" to how battle royale mode works in Paladins, which will include removing it from Champions of the Realm and re-releasing it as a completely separate entity at some point in the future.

The removal of loot boxes and the re-introduction of the battle royale mode, currently known as Paladins: Battlegrounds, are two big developments players have to look forward to in the future. These changes should go a long way in pleasing the Paladins community, and perhaps help it avoid pay-to-win criticisms in the future.

Paladins: Champions of the Realm is available now in early access on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: Hi-Rez Studios