EA Defends "Loot Boxes" By Calling Them Ethical And "Surprise Mechanics"

Representatives from EA and Epic Games were on the hot seat in front of the UK Parliamentary Panel on Wednesday. They were there to combat claims that the game industry encourages addictive gambling tendencies with their "loot boxes."

One representative had an issue with referring to this in-game feature as "loot boxes" and instead wanted to categorize them as "surprise mechanics." Going on to advocate that it was a simple matter of playing into the joy of surprising gamers with cool gifts. Okay, or you could say that's the same thing as a hopeful gambler buying a few scratch-offs, and hoping to be surprised by a "prize."