To the surprise of many, Rocket League developers Psyonix announced in early October that it would be removing the game's loot box system. Previously, Rocket League featured a "Crate" system in which players could spend real money on keys with which to open their Crate loot boxes. The new system, a Blueprint system that allowed players to buy specific items, went live this past week. Yet, despite widespread frustrations with loot boxes across the industry, Psyonix is actually facing calls to bring its loot boxes back.
Frustrations are high within the Rocket League community over the new microtransaction system. And yes, a vocal number of those frustrated Rocket League players are asking Psyonix to bring back its loot boxes. The reason why is both surprising and not. Players are complaining that Psyonix's prices for new cosmetics are way too high, and further, they're claiming that Rocket League's loot box system actually made cosmetics more affordable for the average player.
Those two points may seem contradictory, but the argument does make sense in context. Loot boxes on their own are inherently more expensive, as buyers have to spend cash on keys to gamble on getting the item they want. However, this system has an interesting byproduct. Buyers often get lots of items they don't want, so since Rocket League allowed for item trading, a grey market for these items grew. Players could get many, if not most, of the game's items for relatively decent prices if they were willing to use the grey market.
Even players who refused to use the Rocket League grey market aren't happy with Psyonix's new pricing, however. Many very rare items can cost over $20. That's a single item for $20, where with the loot crate system $20 would at the very least guarantee 20 keys and so 20 items. So while players almost certainly wouldn't get the specific item they wanted, they'd likely be able to get one or more rare items and a ton of other items, too.
What's challenging about the situation is that those wanting loot boxes to return actually have a very good point. That's a rather condemning statement regarding Psonix's new microtransaction system, that it actually makes a loot box system look good in retrospect. Perhaps Psyonix did the math and these prices are what's required to maintain development at its current state, but in that regard, a more honest microtransaction system that still supports the game's full development may the best choice overall.
Rocket League is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Reddit