The backlash against
loot boxes was strong in 2017, but the results of a Game Developers Conference survey of more than 4500 developers who have attended a GDC event in the past three years strongly suggests that they're not going away anytime soon. 11 percent of developers who responded to the survey said they are currently working on a game that will monetize via the sale of "paid item crates," and some developers say they're necessary to ensure the continued stability of the industry.
Loot boxes are also an integral part of videogame markets outside of North America and Europe, another noted, particularly in China and Japan—which also have laws aimed at protecting consumers from abuse. That reflects the real issue, one developer said, which isn't the loot boxes themselves but how they're implemented.
"Time is money," one developer wrote in follow-up comments. "So long as, A, the content is also accessible by playing the game; and, B, this and all parts of the game are balanced for gameplay first and monetization second, then I see no legitimate basis for complaints."
