Trials Rising, due on February 12th, 2019 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, features cosmetic loot boxes. This was discovered a while ago during the game's beta and Trials fans have quickly complained about this decision on the official Steam forums.
At long last, a Ubisoft representative replied yesterday. Ubi_Warlock wrote:
As has been pointed out, these loot crates are purely cosmetic. I do appreciate why players feel the way they do about them (not a huge fan myself), however, as it was also pointed out, you can always just not buy them.
Ultimately, they're intended for players who want something to help them stand out from the crowd when playing online, or even just those who are big fans of the game and want to support us further.
Yes, it means that some players end up spending more on our games than others and that does result in increased profits for us. It also helps us to put more money into new titles and to understand what players look for in their games. If players simply didn't buy these crates, they would not be added into games in the future.
All in all, loot crates / cosmetic items in general have been a huge boon for the Gaming Industry, being a driving factor in the increased popularity of Gaming over the past decade or so.
They aren't a bad thing if done right.
Your feedback on the topic is still very much appreciated as this is a hotly debated topic. I do hope you consider the impact it would actually have on your enjoyment of the game though.
- Ubisoft Support
Needless to say, this reply did not sit well with the community. While these loot boxes are purely cosmetic and therefore will not impact gameplay, the industry as a whole has been moving away entirely away from loot boxes while individual countries have even outlawed them.
