Fortnite: Big gaming boss wants an end to loot boxes

Image source, Epic Games

One of the top bosses at the gaming company which owns Fortnite says loot boxes are damaging the gaming industry and they need to end.

Tim Sweeney, who co-founded Epic Games, has said gaming companies making money from pay-to-play loot boxes is "causing harm" to players.

"I think we will see more and more publishers move away from loot boxes," he said.

What's the problem?

Image source, Empics

Image caption, Players are now able to see what is inside loot llamas before they buy them, but this change hasn't affected free llamas

Lots of games let players buy loot boxes, which often contain random items and customised options for gameplay, but usually you don't know what you're going to get.

In 2018, Belgium became the first country to ban the sale of video game loot boxes.

Many companies, including Epic Games, have been criticised because some people think loot boxes are a form of gambling, which is illegal for people under the age of 18 in the UK.