PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is making a major change to its monetization system. No longer will it distribute locked loot crates that need to be paid for to unlock. The developer, PubG Corp, stated that "players do not get enjoyment out of opening crates as they currently exist," so it's planning to change things for good. Starting November 20, a new series of "Venetian Crates" would launch and will be directly purchaseable with in-game currency.
But that's just the beginning. On November 27, those crates will enter the random loot box pool and random locked box probability will decrease. By December 18, locked loot boxes will no longer be distributed in game at all and only the Venetian boxes, which can be unlocked with earnable in-game currency, will be rewarded from then on.
"We have been thinking about this carefully and we want to ensure that we steer clear of revenue models that fail to satisfy fans, especially if they include a low success rate," the developer said in a blog post, via PCGamesN. "We will continue to tweak our business model where possible to offer more compelling value for the money you choose to spend with us."
For those lamenting the death of a mechanic you quiet like, don't fret, the new crates will actually be better too. They'll give better skins at lower tiers, AR category skins will be more evenly distributed among tiers, and mid-tier items will be more common by around 20 percent, making all the rarer unlocks that bit more achievable for the average player.