Players looking for specific cosmetic items in Rocket League will have an easier time buying them directly in the near future. That's because developer Psyonix has announced that later this year, it will "remove all paid, randomized Crates from Rocket League, replacing them with a system that shows the exact items you’re buying in advance." The company added that "Rocket Pass Premium, DLC Cars, and Esports Shop items will continue to be offered for direct purchase alongside our new system."

The announcement comes a few months after Psyonix was purchased by Epic, a company that announced a similar loot box phaseout for Fortnite: Save the World back in January. Psyonix cites that Fortnite decision explicitly in its announcement, which suggests that the new ownership may have played into the move.

Rocket League has used sales of randomized Crates to distribute cosmetic customization items for in-game cars since 2016. A year ago, the company revealed the rarities and odds for these Crates, showing that the rarest "Black Market" items appear in 1% of Crate purchases. Getting such items with "Painted, Certified, [or] Special Edition" modifiers was even rarer.

Psyonix had already blocked Crate sales in the Netherlands and Belgium , following government decisions in those countries declaring such randomized item boxes illegal gambling. Gambling commissioners from many other countries and the state of Washington signed a " declaration of concern " seeking to create an "informed dialogue" around the loot box question. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission is today hosting a series of panels examining loot boxes from a variety of angles.