An amazing step forward in the whole lootbox controversy! Obviously it doesn’t eliminate the lootbox problem entirely, but it definitely helps. That being said, how is this going to be enforced? Is it going to be based on if a user reports a game for not displaying accurate info? If so, how would a player know if the numbers are accurate (seeing as numbers are random and you could just get very (un)lucky.)
Plus I’ve already been showing the odds for most items for years. The boxes are:
- Cosmetic only
- Entirely earnable for free easily
- Guaranteed an item every time
- Odds clearly displayed
- All rewards are tradeable so you can trade if you get something you don’t want giving it inherent value, no crappy untradeable filler items like Overwatch for example
- Items are grouped into series so the rewards are somewhat selectable
Not sure how this is comparable to losing hundreds or thousands of dollars (maybe a life destroying amount) at the casino and leaving with literally nothing under the guise that you may win an amount of money from a jackpot that could change your life (AKA actual gambling). I understand what the word gambling means but comparatively it’s such a broad spectrum that thinking they deserve the same kind of legislation makes no sense.
Anyway, I guess by default I support this ToS change because I was already doing it anyway.
18 Likes
I guess that this was a fairly good call, but people can easily lie about the chances, and people will always find a way to get around it. If you did look at the source code, I know that I wouldn’t be happy. Restating the fact though, even if you did look at the source code, I’m sure that people will find a way to get around it.
I’m just stating my opinion though. I guess that something is better than nothing.
1 Like
On mobile, apologies for typos and formating.
is asking a bit much if you ask me. There is nothing wrong with loot boxes if the developer implements them in a non predatory manner. Loot boxes have been a part of the games industry for years with little or no fuss made
over them. Not only would this be unnecessarily drastic but it would without a doubt have a noticeable impact on developer revenue for many on the platform.
I understand the issue of international laws is complicated but I doubt it is something that is without a work-around.
Anyway all we’re really trying to do is give our players a sense of pride and accomplishment. 
3 Likes
What if a slot machine always awarded one cent when you lost? Is it still gambling?
17 Likes
Agreed. If I ever make a game with crates, I would have done this regardless of the new rule.
Even if they had enough moderators to monitor the source code (which is almost impossible), I probably wouldn’t be happy if they looked and/or changed my source code.
1 Like
That is a very good point. A person could get a legendary item, but how do they know that it is a real legendary item?
It’d be very easy for people to get around this rule.
What if the item (eg a crate) is obtainable by buying currency with robux, but at the same time the currency can be earned for free by playing the game, do you need to disclose the odds then?
You would probably have to put the percent chance of getting each item.
Same. They would be overstepping and that leads to trust issues regarding them stealing code and ideas with malicious/corrupt intentions, demonstrating unfair practices and potential favoritism toward specific developers/teams. If developers don’t cheat their players out of a great game experience, more players will stay on the platform and invite new players to join them. There would be less red tape and more money to go around…It’s that simple…but there will always be clickbate devs…It’s a double edged sword and I just ask that they’re careful with this and they start with games that are already know for terrible lootbox practices.
That would lead me to have a 50+ list of items each with an individual percent that is the same
Massively agreed - while most people on this platform have at least some respect for ethics, I am disappointed to say I’ve been thoroughly disgusted by some people’s approaches to monetisation many times before.
Loot boxes can be awesome, and I support those awesome use cases. Unfortunately there’s so many instances of loot boxes not being awesomely used that I disagree with you. I personally think a ban on loot boxes would be for the better, so we have time to properly investigate the nuances of this subject without exposing players to predatory tactics in the meantime.
Its good to have these conversations, either way 
2 Likes
Moderators wouldn’t be the one looking through your source code, obviously. It would be escalated to someone with engineering experience.
FYI, Roblox is allowed to inspect the contents of your game for engineering/safety reasons like that, so you can be happy or unhappy about it, but it will happen if they have to anyway. They would never make changes to your uploaded games themselves though.
7 Likes
Permanent removal of lootboxes would result in immoral developers abusing another form of monetization. There’s no permanent solution to greed as this mentality can be traced to the beginning of the gaming industry This is something everyone must come to realize… to maintain morals isn’t obligated of anyone. I’ve previously covered this topic in the past here.
5 Likes
I’m not saying permanent removal, I’m saying interim fix:
(emphasis added)
Of course it doesn’t work perfectly as a long term solution, because it’s a quick fix. The issue is that it’s hard to define what immoral or unethical behaviour is, to a high enough degree of specificity, without resorting to ambiguity and vague catch-all clauses.
An interim ban on lootboxes would, in the short term, buy people a bit more time to go through this issue more thoroughly 
Is it considered gambling if all of the lootboxes are 100% free.
E.g. at random points during gameplay, you may be awarded a random item.
I’m aware this is a dumb question, I just want to be sure (you don’t really want to ever guess guidelines)
So, stupid question time!!
So, this a totally theoretical question that came to mind on reading this. Lets say you have an arena that you can only access via DevProduct purchase for 1 time usage. That arena has 1 entity within with specific chances to drop certain items. Would the entities name have to be specified when purchasing the product (seeing as its an area access thing) and/or its drops?
Another scenario where you directly have to pay in order to fight an entity, would you be required to specified drops and their chances?
1 Like
No I wouldn’t think so. Sometimes at events companies promote their products by giving away free amenities by “spin the wheel”. It’s completely free and I don’t think that’s gambling.
1 Like
To test its accuracy, this would be a possible solution:
- An admin would have to go into your source code, and test the algorithm and compare its theoretical probability to its experimental probability and make sure that the margin of error is close to 0%.
This is a bit tedious for a single game - not to mention that games can get updated whenever, meaning that previously checked games are no longer verified.