10 Video Games To Blame For The Current State Of Games

3. Loot Boxes - Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2 wasn't the first ever game to feature loot boxes, but it was the first to so shrewdly exploit gambling mechanics and psychology in such a prominent and hugely profitable way.

In September 2010, the hit shooter first introduced loot boxes, which could be unlocked by keys purchased with real-world money. Less than a year later, the game went free-to-play, prompting microtransaction revenue to multiply many times over, creating a runaway gravy train in the process.

In the years that followed, an overwhelming number of multiplayer-centric AAA franchises included loot box mechanics, namely Halo 5, Overwatch, Call of Duty, Gears of War, FIFA, and so on.

But the straw that broke the camel's back came in late 2017, when Star Wars Battlefront II's insultingly transparent loot box mechanics made natural unlocks such a rampant chore, and so clearly gave those buying into loot boxes such an advantage, that there was a colossal backlash from players, the press, and also governments worldwide.

As a result the tide has turned massively against loot boxes in recent times, though their prominence and subsequent controversy nevertheless underlined the contempt with which publishers view the average gamer, and the skepticism with which players should view most MTX systems.