RejZoRI see nothing wrong if lootboxes exist for cosmetics, even if they are paid for material. No one forces you to pay a cent for them if the game works the same without it. And most games of such sort have occasional free drops so you still get some cosmetics entirely free.

But when lootboxes and tokens affect your leveling, your character selection when they have different play perks and so on, that is something I'll never be fine with.

For example, Killing Floor 2 works fine with loot stuff. Same with Quake Champions. I didn't pay a think and probably never will and I already got quite few visually really epic items. There is also a limit with ability to make custom modes, but I'm fine with that. The modes I can play are no different for me than for everyone else. And for the champions, I'm just gonna grind for them with Favr points. I'm very close to unlocking another one and one more in 2 weeks time. 8 weeks for free unlock of extra champion ain't that bad if you don't want to pay a thing.

Anyway, bottom line is, if Forza had only cosmetics, I don't really see a problem. But if they kept cars or car performance upgrades behind loot walls, then it's nice they removed that. I've hated NFS Payback because performance upgrades were stuck behind stupid absurd loot box grinding that sucked all fun out of the game...

I disagree on cosmetic only being OK. That same idea led everything to be lootbox based. Give an inch they take a mile.

But on top of that, if I buy a game, I should be buying the full game, not an interface to spend MORE money to get all the content. If you are playing a game where customization of your character is a feature, then cosmetics being locked behind a lootbox paywall is restricting content behind you paying more $$$. What happened to earning cosmetics for actions in game? If the cosmetics dont matter at all, why is the developer wasting time making them in the first place, as opposed to spending time making in game content instead?

Lootboxes have no place in any game you pay for, full stop. They are fine in free games, because the games are free. It doesn't cost you any money to find how far the lootboxes go. But putting them into full price games, whether they be $20 or $60, is just insulting. This kind of rampant demonetization makes it blatantly apparent that developers only see us as walking wallets to be milked.

TheinsanegamerNThis kind of rampant demonetization makes it blatantly apparent that developers only see us as walking wallets to be milked.

In the end, gamers deserve it. They're some of the most wasteful males on the planet. Worse than a bunch of old housewives who pay a bunch for multiple purses and cosmetics that they don't need. Worse than the other segment of 20-something/30 something single males who waste their cash on nightlife and overpaying for drinks. At least those guys have a small chance of getting laid.

edit: I hate to sound harsh in that, but it's the sad truth. If games were still largely run by game developers, they wouldn't see gamers for the easy marks that they are. But now the industry is largely run by marketing and business grads.. and gamers are easy targets. Until people are start respecting themselves, and change the whole nature of this dynamic, it isn't going to change.

Who needs to get laid when you can wear a Legendary Vanity item in a game? Heh.

@TheinsanegamerN
Like I said, I agree and I disagree. Again, I'll use Killing Floor 2 as an example. The game was 20€ when I got it in Early Access, now is 27€ with 20€ during sales iirc. The thing is, the studio behind it is relatively small compared to lets say EA or Ubisoft. But they crank out FREE content every few months, be it new maps, new player skins/models that are unlockable via achievements or ingame tasks, new modes, new weapons. They really support the game for years. It's not like with EA which pumps out a game, releases paid DLC's and then milks you some more on lootboxes. And then they forget about the game after 3 years. Killing Floor 1 was like 3-4 years old when I started playing it and I was getting updates later on for few more years, like 3 I think. So, 6 years of support with absolutely free content. Character packs were a way to support them and were payable, but weren't essential for gameplay as you got few for free as well as unlocked new free ones by playing the game.

Then they released Killing Floor 2. It's been like 3 years now since release iirc. Again, continuing the tradition, seasonal content updates (usually 4 big content updates a year) free of charge. There is some stuff you can buy, but generally you buy and unlock "loot crates". All non essential cosmetics if you decide to support the devs.

So, they really have the loot system to milk the users, if they decide to be willingly milked so to speak if they want to support the devs. If you decide not to pay a single cent, your experience won't be any different than for those who spent 500€ on the loots. You just won't run around in super fancy custom skins. I got the itch for those items and decided to buy them on Steam Market. Some were more expensive at 4€, but I was fine with it because I got exactly what I wanted. The rest were like 50c or so, again exactly what I wanted.

So, there is a difference when someone solely uses loot to milk dumb idiots and when they use it to really fund their long term effort. Which is why I usually defend them despite criticizing them at first. CS:GO is in the same, but I criticize those because it has literally disgusting weapon skins that are just vomit inducing. Where KF2 has some really nice weapon skins as well as character accessories...

I miss the old days when cosmetic items were earned by completing harder modes or challenges in the game.

I like the way Overwatch handles it. Cool cosmetics, but you can also buy them from in-game currecy which you have to earn and can't buy.

They also have weekly lootbox rewards for playing arcade.