In China, you can now buy credits in Overwatch directly – at ridiculous prices. We will tell you which tricks are behind it.
In China, there has been a strong crackdown on companies that primarily earn money through gambling and similar methods for several months now. This has forced operators of various games to disclose the probabilities of their loot boxes. Here, Blizzard has revealed the probabilities of rewards from loot boxes for Overwatch.
Like many other companies, Blizzard is now simply circumventing this issue with a trick. Instead of selling loot boxes, Blizzard now sells credits in Overwatch directly for money, but with a twist: loot boxes are given as a “bonus” basically for free.
However, the prices are absurdly high. In China, you can (equivalent) buy a whopping 120 credits for nearly 30 euros. As a “small bonus,” you then receive 50 loot boxes on top. Credits can be used in Overwatch to craft various cosmetic items as desired. However, with 120 credits, you won’t get very far.
New sales aim to circumvent the law
You don’t need to be a professional to recognize that Blizzard is still selling loot boxes here and has merely rebranded the whole thing, but this way the sale complies with the requirements of the new law.
All previous offers, where loot boxes could be purchased, are now instead promoting a (extremely small) amount of credits – each with 2, 5, 11, 24, or 50 loot boxes as a “freebie.”
It is likely just a matter of time before the government improves this and revises the law so that this will no longer be possible.
What do you think of this approach? A good method for Chinese players to continue buying loot boxes? Or is it already reprehensible?
On PlayStation 4, you have to beware of friend requests in Overwatch.
