Forza's loot boxes and paid tokens are going away

Turn 10 Studios announced today that prize crates—Forza's take on loot boxes that deliver a randomized selection of cars, mods, gear, and badges—will be removed from Forza Motorsport 7. The studio also said that tokens, an in-game currency from previous games that must be purchased with real money, won't be added to the game, or to the upcoming Forza Horizon 4.

"While we’ve never charged money for prize crates in Forza Motorsport 7, their presence in the game has continued to be a source of controversy. The overwhelming feedback has been that this system feels out of place in the game. After careful consideration, we have decided to completely remove prize crates from Forza Motorsport 7," Turn 10 studio head Alan Hartman wrote.

"Similarly, paid tokens—which were a part of previous Forza games—will not be coming to Forza Motorsport 7 or Forza Horizon 4."

Hartman warned that removing the prize crates will be a long process, which Turn 10 began this month by unlocking more than 100 previously "exclusive" cars, and removing cars from prize crates altogether. "The current lineup of prize crates offer no competitive advantage and only offer Driver Gear suits, Mods and badges, and these crates will remain in place until crates are removed entirely," he wrote.

The promise to remove Forza prize crates is the latest walkback in response to the backlash against loot boxes in general (though usually paid ones), and comes just a day after a report of changes to Dota 2 loot boxes that enables players in the Netherlands to see what's inside them prior to purchasing.

PRODUCTS

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.