Developer Psyonix has long tried to look at the way Rocket League presents rewards and balance that with a desire to monetize the game effectively. Critics have pointed to the game’s loot boxes and heavy emphasis on customization as incompatible with the game’s large audience of children. Now, it seems, Psyonix is taking their first step toward trying to make their loot boxes less predatory.
At an unnamed point later this year, Rocket League will show players what is in a box before they buy it. They will still technically be random, but players won’t have to purchase a box and get dupes or something they didn’t want, leading to more box purchases. If this sounds familiar, it is because Fortnite instituted it in their Save the World mode in January of this year. In their post on the subject, Psyonix draws the same comparison, and suggests the new Epic ownership is part of why this change was made.
While this is definitely a good move, it is also literally the least the company can do to keep up with evolving-though-specific laws emerging around the loot boxes. Presumably, this change will go into effect on all versions of the game, including consoles and Steam. At least they didn’t refer to them as surprise mechanics.