Guild Wars 2 Game Director Talks About Monetization And Loot Boxes

Guild Wars 2 has loot boxes, as you probably know, and while they don't get anywhere near the hate of those in other games, ArenaNet has made some missteps along the way (and taken steps to correct them).

They, along with monetization in general, are the topic of a conversation between an editor at Gamasutra and ArenaNet's Crystin Cox, who's given the title of "game director and founder of commerce team." The basic tenet of any kind of monetization is there, as Cox said that "Players shouldn't feel bad at any point that they made a purchase." She went on to say that loot boxes can serve a purpose, in allowing players to "get something for a bit of a discount," which is true or not, depending on whether you want a specific item (in which they aren't a discount) or are happy getting almost anything (in which they are).

On the topic of loot boxes in general, and the legislative efforts surrounding them around the world, Cox said that she doesn't "have a lot of faith that that's going to do a lot" and is worried that one or two bad decisions by developers will "end up nuking the entire thing from orbit" by outlawing loot boxes completely.

In addition to their one-on-one comments, you can see the slides for the talk Cox gave at GDC on the Gamasutra site.