Gaming
CSGO Lotto Scammers Get off with a Slap on the Wrists
The CSGO Lotto debacle is still fresh in the minds of many Steam users. Plenty of gamers hoped the con-artists responsible would be punished, but the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has let them off with little more than a warning.
Back in late 2015, YouTubers Trevor Martin (TmarTn) and Thomas Cassel (ProSyndicate) posted videos where they claimed they found a safe and legal site, CSGO Lotto, where gamers could gamble Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO for short) weapon skins for the chance to win even rarer skins that could be sold for vast amounts of real-world money. The videos went viral and attracted millions of gamers to the CSGO Lotto site. Fast forward to 2016, YouTubers such as h3h3Productions and HonorTheCall discovered that Martin and Cassel actually owned the site, and gamers were livid. According to a recent GameSpot article, Martin and Cassel violated YouTube guidelines by not disclosing their relationship to CSGO Lotto. The FTC eventually followed suit and investigated Martin and Cassel for using deceptive tactics to endorse the site.
According to the FTC’s investigation, not only did Martin and Cassel fail to disclose their ownership of the CSGO Lotto site, but they also ran an “influencer program” where they paid people with large social media followings between $2,500 and $55,000 to promote CSGO Lotto. The evidence against Martin and Cassel was damning, but sadly, the FTC only sent Martin, Cassel, and 21 of the influencers warning letters that stated they could not endorse any sort of brand without “clearly and conspicuously” disclosing any “material connection.”
While the lack of any tangible punishment may rub many gamers the wrong way, especially those who were victims of Martin and Cassel’s scam, according to Rolling Stone, “the commission typically can’t assess civil penalties on the first violation.” Furthermore, the FTC spokesman Mitchell J. Katz clarified, “The goal of the FTC isn’t to be a punitive or draconian agency. We are here to educate consumers about new markets.” However, the FTC isn’t letting Martin, Cassel, or the influencers off entirely scot-free, as they will be charged fines up to $40,654 if they violate a “consent order” set to take effect October 10th. Only time will tell if this order is enough to stop Martin and Cassel from trying to con gamers again.
Since the excellent Baldur’s Gate 3 has been out in the wild for a while, interesting data can be gleaned, such as how players choose to play an innovative new RPG from home. Stats from developer Larian Studios and posted on the PlayStation Blog show that most people want to play as a stealthy archer like in Skyrim when given nearly limitless options.
According to a fascinating graph, Rogue/Ranger is the most popular multiclass build, with over 175,000 players using it to snipe unsuspecting enemies from range. The next two builds reveal similarly. 150,000 played Barbarian/Fighter because they loved pummeling things, and 109,00 played Barbarian/Paladin, which lets players talk to their victims before beatings.
More sense emerges as you descend. If the Paladin/Warlock/Sorcerer/Bard has high Charisma, any combination can be interesting. Charisma helps these classes cast spells and abilities and interact with NPCs outside of combat.
Playing a single class through Baldur’s Gate 3 feels great, which is what most players do. A pure Fighter or Wizard becomes so powerful by game’s end that we don’t blame you for not mixing things up!
Play as a Tiefling Oathbreaker Paladin, Dark Urge Origin (which you must resist), or Bard for real moral dilemmas. You could also play pseudo-Aragorn again.
Techland is continuing to release Dying Light 2 content as part of its long-term support. This is surprising since the meaty Good Night, Good Luck update was released a few months ago. It’s nice to know what’s coming, but no timeline was given.
IGN-exclusive roadmap trailers reveal more co-op missions, board quests, a tower raid, and replayable GRE anomalies. Executions and finishers may be added to the April Gut Feeling update, which overhauled melee mechanics. Graphical options, weapon repair, gear, and mod dismantling are always welcome.
Knives, polearms, and more enemy variants are coming, including a Nightmare difficulty. Changes to NG+ include firearms. Players can finally dress to their hearts’ content with new cosmetic options.
Has Techland’s Dying Light 2 support lured you back? Would you rather focus on something new?
Epic Games expanded the Fortnite V-Buck “pricing alignment” after laying off almost 900 employees, citing “inflation and currency fluctuations”. Fortnite’s premium currency will rise in international markets, including the largest.
Epic Games will raise the price of V-Bucks and real money content packs in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Eurozone countries, Hungary, Japan, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, and the US (including all US Dollar storefronts) on October 27.
Raising the price of this fictitious currency was successful when the company trialed it in the UK, Canada, and Mexico, so it was decided to announce it worldwide now. These USD increases range from $1 (1000 V-Bucks, previous $7.99) to $10 (13,500 V-Bucks, previous $79.99).
How do you view Epic’s timing and pricing increase?
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