China forces developers to reveal loot box odds

Starting May 2017 developers whose games contain random loot box drops will be required to reveal the underlying odds.

Games such as Overwatch, Hearthstone and Counter-Strike reward players who both complete in-game tasks and pay cash with digital loot boxes, the contents of which vary. Rare and valuable items can of course be had, but often infrequently.

Now Kotaku reports that a Neogaf translation has revealed that China will soon require that studios publicly state not only the odds of receiving what gift, but also reports of what recent loot boxes have included.

The requirements will only pertain to China, but the data should nonetheless offer a wider insight.

2.6 …Online game publishers shall promptly publicly announce information about the name, property, content, quantity, and draw/forge probability of all virtual items and services that can be drawn/forge on the official website or a dedicated draw probability webpage of the game. The information on draw probability shall be true and effective.

2.7 Online game publishers shall publicly announce the random draw results by customers on notable places of official website or in game, and keep record for government inquiry. The record must be kept for more than 90 days. When publishing the random draw results, some measures should be taken place to protect user privacy.