5 Reasonable Loot Box Alternatives For Games Like Battlefront 2 & Forza 7

Publishers have turned to loot boxes to offset the increased cost of game development, and while there are flaws in that perspective, there are other ways to make money that don’t feel pressured or pay-to-win. In light of recent controversies surrounding Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Forza 7, here are my ideas.

1) The Cosmetic Loot Box: Gamers don’t hate the loot box concept in all incarnations; frustrations focus primarily on the gameplay-centric items included in them. If you want fans spending extra cash, limiting loot boxes to cosmetics has proven to be an effective strategy.

Just a year after its launch, Blizzard announced that Overwatch had become a billion-dollar game, thanks in large part to its cosmetic loot box sales. In 2015 Dota 2, another game that emphasizes cosmetics, was making $18 million a month for Valve. Especially with a universe like Star Wars, why is EA not leaning into cool skins for troopers and droids? Gamers approve of this model, so why not use it?

2) Tier What’s Available To Progression: Another alternative that doesn’t totally remove the loot box is to reorganize how they’re tiered. The Star Wars Battlefront 2 beta raised concerns that any player could instantly access the game’s best gear at random, or by paying a bunch of money for boxes.

To take out that pay-to-win element, the simple solution is to tie available loot boxes to progression in the game. It keeps that element of random chance publishers want, while also respecting the time of hardcore players. Higher ranks grant higher loot box tiers. It’s plain and simple.

3) Premium Games: This concept is a little out of left field, but if a $60 price point truly is too low to recoup development costs, maybe the option should exist to purchase $70 or $80 versions of games with no microtransactions or loot boxes whatsoever. It’d essentially be a “director’s cut” with progression the way the developers intended. I’d be willing to pay an extra $10 to not be annoyed.

This strategy has been used in mobile games before, and it could have a place in certain triple-A titles. Competitive experiences may get a little messy because it’s weird to split communities working under different conditions, but it could prove beneficial to publishers and gamers alike.

4) Reasonable Season Passes: One of the biggest reasons Battlefront 2 features loot boxes is players of its 2015 predecessor didn’t like its $50 season pass. Not enough folks invested in it, and it further split the community for those who had. Until sales brought the deluxe edition price down, matchmaking issues became a problem.

To work around that, why not just sell the season pass for $20? It’s reasonable to think a larger portion of the fan base would be willing to invest, so the loss might not be as sizable as it appears. Again, the concept of the season pass was not bad. It was the constantly escalating price of them that turned fans away.

5) Microtransactions To Guide Progression: If developers must include microtransactions, it’s more palatable to avoid random progression. It would take some balancing to ensure things aren’t pay-to-win, but if desired items can be bought directly, it becomes much easier for players to tailor their progress without wasting time on chance.

Prices need to stay low enough that items can be bought with an in-game currency after a small grind. If costs are balanced with the gamer first as opposed to the business, audiences will be willing to deal with it.

How do you feel about the pervasive nature of loot boxes in games like Battlefront 2 and Forza 7? Are you willing to defend them? Tell us in the comments section!