The first major appearance of loot boxes in the western marketplace was in September 2010, when Valve transitioned Team Fortress 2 from a pay-once model to a free-to-play model. Players could earn "crates" that could be opened with purchasable keys, and since then, this model has evolved and become extremely popular in the marketplace -- regardless of the game's price.
The practice ranges from simply offering cosmetic items, such as the case with Overwatch, to potentially giving an edge early into the launch of the game's multiplayer, which many are now criticizing the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront II for allowing. Games like Battlefront II and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor have resulted in players voicing their concerns on how far the line is being blurred between microtransactions and what many are now considering straight-up gambling.
via destructoid http://ift.tt/2hC3LKS