I have been avoiding multiplayer Valve games like Counter-Strike 2 and Team Fortress 2, due to their in-game economies that have created an underage gambling gray market, which Valve has done little about. However, I am on Linux, and the choices for multiplayer shooters are few. Besides, my small boycott is not stopping Counter-Strike 2 from being the most played steam game. Are boycotts really the best solution to stop this epidemic in gaming? How can we best prevent these gambling grey markets and the gaming to gambling addiction pipeline?

  • Ricky Rigatoni
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    1623 days ago

    I’ve bought singleplayer games with loot boxes and no anticheat and just used cheat engine to get the ingame currency for them. I think I’m doing my part.

    • natryamar
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      1123 days ago

      WTF there are singleplayer games with lootboxes?!?!?

        • natryamar
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          323 days ago

          I’ve never played Assasins Creed but why on earth would a game like that need loot boxes? That just sounds crazy to me.

          • Ricky Rigatoni
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            222 days ago

            They decided to give the game a wardrobe system with loot rarity so you could get EPIC MOUNTS and RARE SWORDS.

            But there’s no point to it because the game just gives you the Chocobo mount for free and that’s the only one worth using.

          • Ricky Rigatoni
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            222 days ago

            Yeah. I liked Origins as a game but since playing that one, which I got for free anyway I think, I haven’t looked at the series since.

        • @[email protected]
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          423 days ago

          Does that really count? As far as I know, the golden keys mechanic was just a way to get some good gear. It wasn’t exclusive gear, and you could get it just by playing the game.

          • @[email protected]
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            23 days ago

            Right, but the fifa series afaik makes most of its money by selling packs of cards with players in them. Packs and players that you can get by just playing. But they still sell those packs for $$, so why wouldn’t it count? Afaik, that’s one of the main culprits besides counter strike that are named when talking about loot boxes

            Borderlands the same, you can buy random gear with cash. I guess it’s less fomo and less abusive, but they’re still literal loot boxes that they sell for money

    • @[email protected]
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      23 days ago

      The Gatcha system is why I never finished Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The first game was phenomenal… But the second game required a gatcha system to unlock new party members. There were even quests that were locked behind certain ultra-rare party members. It’s an entirely single player game.

    • @[email protected]
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      323 days ago

      You’re not though, you are still buying those games. Go the extra mile and pirate them if you really feel the need to play games containing loot box mechanics while trying to “stick it to them”