Goodbye, loot boxes! Hello, premium progression passes!

If the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show last week had a one big trend, it was people standing on stage saying “and no loot boxes!” After Star Wars: Battlefront II and a number of high-profile missteps, loot boxes are fading away. They may stick around in a few games, but developers are looking for what’s next when it comes to generating revenue in games — and it turns out that Epic Games and Fortnite already has the answer.

Premium progression passes are coming to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Rocket League. The Battle Pass is a $10 digital punch card that enables Fortnite players to unlock cosmetic items by completing challenges and leveling up the pass. You can do that by playing the game a lot, or you can pay to buy some levels for your Battle Pass if you’re short on time. This is a popular concept that we’ve seen before in Valve’s Dota 2 with its annual Compendium progression pass that it launches in the lead up to The International esports major.