Blizzard recently revealed loot box drop rates for the Korean Overwatch community, and according to a recent report, those rates stand in place across all regions for all players.
Back in December we reported that China was clamping down on in-game loot. Four months on in May and Overwatch developer, Blizzard, finally complied.
China officials were keen to start clamping down on the process, demanding that gaming publishers reveal to players the probability of earning a desirable item.
Loot boxes typically vary in price depending on the drop rate of certain items: the better the chance for a rare/powerful item in the loot box, the higher the price. Often there is a flat price, with no distinguishable rate to determine the chances of receiving a rare item.
That’s changed in China, however, with new regulations changing the way publishers sell in-game aesthetics and upgrades. Other countries could soon follow.
The regulations say that online game publishers “shall promptly and publicly announce information about the name, property, content, quantity, and draw/forge probability of all virtual items and services that can be drawn/forge on the official website or a dedicated draw probability webpage of the game. The information on draw probability shall be true and effective.”
Further to this, all random draw results must be listed for public access and for “government inquiry”.
“The record must be kept for more than 90 days. When publishing the random draw results, some measures should be taken place to protect user privacy,” the new policy states.
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Blizzard has since revealed the loot box drop rates for Korea as well, and according to a report on Dot Esports, the rates apply to all countries where Overwatch is playable.
Blue (Rare Item): Every loot box
Purple (Epic): Every 5.5 loot boxes
Orange (Legendary): Every 13.5 loot boxes
How does this work out in percentages? Calculations point to about an 18 percent chance of an Epic item, and a 7.4 percent chance of receiving a Legendary item. “Rare” are gifted 100 percent of the time, making them not-so-rare.
