Stupid question, can someone explain to me what are lootboxes in video games?
Lootboxes are essentially a random draw bag that you pay for.
Did you play Borderlands 2? If so, the golden chest was a free lootbox.
They provide a randomly selected item. The current model is to give players a chance to earn the opportunity to open them and an option to pay for the privilege of opening them.
There are two principle criticisms of them:
1. They introduce a gambling-like mechanic
2. They lock away content that used to be freely available (remember the cosmetics that were a standard part of PS2 era games? Outfits, vehicles, boards, etc.?)
Increasingly there is a criticism that the revenue stream of lootboxes and DLC more generally negatively affects game design. This occurs typically where a game is seen to be unnecessarily padded or difficult in the absence of purchasing DLC or lootboxes. Keeping a "true" ending locked away behind a monotonous 40 hour grind as with this game is a prime example of pushing the player to pay to get past the padding.