An American minor, through his legal guardian, filed a $ 5 million lawsuit against Take-Two. At the heart of the discussion are the loot boxes from the NBA 2K series.
NBA 2K’s loot boxes could get Take-Two Interactive into trouble
NME reports that it was brought a lawsuit against Take-Two Interactive for the sale of loot box in NBA 2K video games. The legal maneuver would have taken place on behalf of a minor, by his legal guardian, at the Winnebago Country Circuit Court. The case – which was transferred to the Illinois District Court on February 25 – is about “Unfair, deceptive and illegal practices of the accused, which are misleading and harmful to consumers”. At the center there would therefore be the loot boxes, those packages that can be unlocked or purchased by players and which contain in-game prizes.
According to the indictment, NBA 2K’s loot boxes “psychologically distance players from the financial implications of real life. In particular, it involves minors, who must use their parents’ credit card data to make in-game purchases “. At the moment neither side has officially commented on the affair, but Bloomberg reports that the prosecution would have asked for compensation of 5 million dollars.
It is not the first time that loot boxes are at the center of lawsuits. Already in 2020 a class action was filed against SHE because of the packages FIFA FUT (and not only). Furthermore, last year researchers from the universities of Plymouth and Wolverhampton published a report concluding that the operation of loot boxes is “psychologically structured in a similar way to gambling” and that a large number of children spend real money on them. . The study also revealed that of 93% of children who play video games, up to 40% of them bought loot boxes. Finally the study reported that around 5% of repeat loot box buyers spend an average of £ 70 a month (circa 85€).