Over the past few years, EA has developed a negative reputation for adding loot boxes to its games. As such, it’s no surprise that people expect them to be in the recently announced Need for Speed Heat. However, that won’t be the case, the company has confirmed that Need for Speed: Heat loot boxes won’t make their way to the game.
In a post on Reddit, EA community manager Ben Walke addressed concerns of some doubtful fans and confirmed that Need for Speed: Heat would not have any “surprise mechanics.” Walke not only stated that there wouldn’t loot boxes in the game at launch, he also stated that they “won’t be” added later on.
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This news should come as a relief to skeptical Need for Speed fans. The previous game in the series, Need for Speed Payback, put emphasis on its loot box system, tying them to the game’s car customization system. While EA eventually did make them less essential, thanks to the the backlash to their implementation in Payback and other EA games such as Star Wars: Battlefront 2, it never outright removed them.
Of course, the lack of loot boxes doesn’t mean that Need for Speed Heat won’t have post launch content. On the same Reddit thread, Walke talked about EA’s post-launch plans for the game. Specifically, it will be adding DLC car packs, as well as a time saver pack later this year. The latter will reveal all collectibles on a map so players won’t have to spend time looking for them.
With this announcement, EA seems it might be serious about changing its reputation as a loot box happy company. Need for Speed: Heat actually represents the second upcoming game from EA that won’t have them. Earlier this year, it promised that Respawn’s upcoming Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order would also not have loot boxes or microtransactions in general. Hopefully, EA continues doing this for more games in the future to earn the goodwill of the players once again.
