PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has had loot boxes for ages – and will continue to have them – but the developers are making some pretty fundamental changes to how the system works over the next few months. Locked crates, which you have to purchase keys to open, are getting phased out because “players do not get enjoyment out of opening crates as they currently exist.”
A new series of Venetian Crates will launch on November 20, which will be directly purchasable with the currency you earn in-game, BP. On November 27, the Venetian Crates will enter the pool of random loot boxes, and the probability of getting a random locked box will be lowered. On December 18, locked loot boxes will no longer drop from random crate purchases.
From then on, you’ll still be able to purchase keys if you’ve got locked crates in your inventory, but that’ll be your only option to buy keys. On the blog, the devs say “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. We will continue to tweak our business model where possible to offer more compelling value for the money you choose to spend with us.”
More broadly, BP-purchased crates are improving across the board. You’ll get more preferred skins at low tiers, and AR category skins are getting more evenly distributed across all tiers. The quality of mid-tier items will increase by “about 20%,” and while top-tier items will still be very rare, they are slightly more likely to drop.
The latest PUBG update is upon us, with loads of notable changes for the game itself, which you can find at that link. You can also check out some other multiplayer games, if you’re looking to vary up those online sessions.