Apple Changes iOS Guidelines to Require Loot Boxes to Display Odds

In the ongoing struggle with loot boxes, Apple has decided to take action towards their moderation, though not how I was expecting. Apple has recently updated their iOS Developer App Store Review Guidelines to require apps with loot boxes to display the odds of the box's item.

This can be seen in section 3.1.1:

3.1.1 In-App Purchase:
. . .
Apps offering loot boxes or other mechanisms that provide randomized virtual items for purchase must disclose the odds of receiving each type of item to customers prior to purchase.

We've seen this behavior before with Valve, when they had to modify games like Team Fortress 2 and DOTA to display their loot box odds. This was due to China's new regulations. It's possible that the same reason is what drives Apple for this distinction. Apple has yet to make a statement about the change.

While this doesn't really change anything for consumers who spend frivolously, the added layer of transparency is a small step closer to limiting predatory marketing behavior in games. This is more effort than some major game publishers and developers bother with.

We have reached out to Apple for a statement.