9 Video Game Innovations That Happened Earlier Than You Think
6. Loot Boxes - NOT Overwatch Or FIFA
Actually: Maplestory & ZT Online
Look, I don't like calling loot boxes an "innovation" any more than you, but brass tacks, they have allowed some free-to-play business models to thrive, keep the lights on for smaller teams with dedicated fandoms, and if done right, they can be the perfect way to experience certain genres or gameplay mechanics you might avoid.
That's not to absolve the likes of EA or other large company's use of them, of course, but alongside this it's worth noting that loot boxes themselves predate Overwatch, FIFA Ultimate Team or even EA's older UEFA games.
No, the first instance of a paid loot box is the Japanese version of 2004 2D MMO, Maplestory. Here you could buy a "Gachapon ticket" which could be exchanged for in-game items. 2007's ZT Online is also flagged as including one of the first instances of what is now referred to as a loot box, though both of these titles were dwarfed by EA adopting the model when twinning it with card packs, in 2007's UEFA Champion's League game.
Point being, this stuff goes back WAY before the eighth generation, and was already sinking its hooks in at the end of the 2000s.