Overwatch: Paid-for loot boxes are being removed from the game

So-long loot boxes.

Overwatch has said it will end its paid-for loot boxes in the game, by the end of August.

Blizzard - the company who owns Overwatch - made the announcement in an online blog, saying: "Loot Boxes will no longer be available for sale after the end of the Anniversary Remix Vol. 3 event on August 30."

The paid-for loot boxes were introduced to the game in 2016.

The loot boxes, also found in games such as Fifa and Star Wars Battlefront, have faced criticism from fans and politicians around the world with some countries banning them saying they are a type of gambling.

Overwatch 2 will replace the original game when it is released on 4 October, and it will move to a free-to-play model, with the option of free and paid-for seasonal battle passes where players can earn items and skins by playing, as well as a store where players can buy specific items.

Blizzard said they wanted to give players: "a lot more control over how they interact with the game and acquire new content."

What are loot boxes?

Loot boxes contain in-game items, a bit like a virtual treasure chest.

The boxes often have things like skins in them, which are either special costumes which players can put onto their character, emotes, weapons or armour.

The items in the box can be earned by a player spending long periods of time playing the game, or by paying.

What's in a loot box can be random - usually, until a player opens the box, they don't know what is in it. So there is no guarantee that if players pay for a loot box, they will get what they want on their first try.

This is why critics of loot boxes say it encourages gambling and spending money to keep players opening boxes until they get what they want - particularly games aimed at young people.