Skate Reboot Deals With Rumors about the Loot Box

Electronic Arts’ Skate reboot development team has indirectly commented on a report that paid loot boxes are being added to the game. The report, which was released earlier this week, said that playtesters for the latest version of Skate verified the addition of treasure boxes known as Swag Bags. However, there was no official confirmation. It was simply a rumour, and the Skate team hopes to put an end to it before it becomes a scandal.

According to the loot box report, many playtesters verified the inclusion of Swag Bag loot boxes in the Skate relaunch. These Swag Bags gave players a random chance at five goods, enabling them to buy multiples for a greater chance at rarer stuff. Swag Bags are acquired with Stars, in-game money, although Taps, which playtesters predicted would become a premium currency once Skate is released, may also be used to buy Stars. Obviously, there is no premium money enabled for testing.

Wednesday evening, the official Skate Twitter account issued a message that seemed to implicitly reference the treasure box speculations. The tweet linked to a video from last year’s Skate development team, which promised “NO PAID LOOT BOXES.” The message seems to be that Skate is sticking to his word and that the treasure box allegations are false.

 

 

Because the Skate team’s letter does not explicitly address the nature of the leak, there is some ambiguity around the matter. Loot boxes might still appear in Skate, but not as “Paid Loot Boxes.” EA may also be implying that loot boxes that may be acquired in-game but still bought with real money are not the same as “Paid Loot Boxes.” It’s also likely that EA is only testing loot boxes as a reward system and has no plans to use them at launch.

It goes without saying that Skate is a free-to-play game. Long-term success will be totally dependent on revenue and player retention. Owing to previous problems, EA may be unable to integrate paid loot boxes, but in-game loot box incentives may still be a possibility due to how they motivate users to repeat content. If it’s not loot boxes, it’s probably something close.

Skate is another game that does not yet have a release date. EA is still hard at work on the project, pondering and determining what will and will not work in a free-to-play skateboarding game. Skate lovers should make their concerns known immediately, while EA can still make improvements.