In a recent update to its Google Play developer policies, Google addressed loot boxes, sex/nudity, and hate speech in its supported applications.
The specific changes outlined in an expanded Monetization and Ads page require developers with randomized reward items to "clearly disclose the odds of receiving those items in advance of purchase," which could incentivize games to lower loot box probabilities to make their purchase seem more worthwhile.
Loot boxes have come under scrutiny even outside of Google, as the Federal Trade Commission and Missouri Senator John Hawley are launching respective attempts to investigate and potentially ban them — the FTC will host a public workshop in Nov. 2019 to see if loot boxes violate consumer protections and Hawley's reportedly problematic bill aims to outlaw pay-to-win and gambling adjacent monetization in all games marketed to children under 18. Read more...
More about Loot Boxes, Google Play Rules, Entertainment, and Gamingvia Tingle Tech