Dean Hall, the creator of DayZ and more recently Icarus, has called out Valve regarding the use of gambling-related monetisation methods in its games.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Hall said, “It’s something I think Valve does not get anywhere near enough criticism about. I’m honestly disgusted with gambling mechanics in video games at all – they have absolutely no place.
“My challenge to game developers,” he added, “is that if they think these things are not a problem, they make the data available to universities who are crying out to study this stuff.”
Hall’s remarks refer to loot boxes in Counter-Strike 2, which offer weapon and armour skins that can be traded with other players and so fuel a multi-billion dollar marketplace surrounding the game – a marketplace that includes significant betting activity.