After the release ofStar Wars Battlefront 2,loot boxes came under intense scrutinynot just by gamers, but by the mainstream media as well. This attention resulted in politicians throwing their hats in the ring, with the latest politician to speak out against loot boxes in video games being the Democratic state senator Kevin Ranker, who has introduced a bill to address the issue.
The bill proposed by Ranker will determine a number of things. For one, it will decide whether loot boxes should be considered gambling or not - a discussion that has been the source of some debate. Secondly, the bill will address whether or not loot boxes purchased with microtransactions should be allowed in video games at all. And finally, if loot boxes are allowed in video games, the bill will decide if minors should be allowed to purchase them.
Here is what Washington state senator Ranker had to say about loot boxes in video games:
“If [parents] realized how predatory these game are then they wouldn’t want them under their Christmas tree, they wouldn’t want them going to their kids.”
Washington state will need to reach a decision on the bill by June 03, 2025. Between now and then, it’s possible that the bill will undergo changes or be scrapped completely depending on how things develop in the coming months.
Of course, Washington isn’t the first state to speak out against loot boxes in video games. Late last year,Democratic State Representative Chris Lee of Hawaiiheld a press conference about the use of loot boxes in video games, and indicated that he may also introduce legislation that would ban children from playing them.
While no bills have been introduced yet that have an impact on the use of loot boxes in video games, it’s clear that the controversy is far from over. It will be interesting to see how the loot box controversy continues to develop over the coming months, and how it will impact games likeStar Wars Battlefront 2andOverwatch.
