As more proof that there's absolutely nothing we can all agree on, the news that Psyonix will be removing paid loot boxes from Rocket League has had a mixed response. There's a lot of support for the decision in the replies to the announcement tweet, but also cries that Epic, which recently purchased Psyonix, is "ruining" the game.

There are some good questions in the thread. It's the keys used to open crates that cost money in Rocket League, not the crates themselves, and some players use keys as a trading currency. Players want to know if their big key stashes will still be worth anything after the change, or if they should open all their crates right now.

But many others seem to just like the loot boxes. Ultra-rare Black Market items are status symbols in Rocket League, and a community has formed around collecting and opening crates. YouTuber Jon Sandman regularly gets over 100K views on crate opening videos.

It can be hard to tell what's shitposting and what's actual rage on social media, but the number of angry responses indicates that there's real opposition to the paid loot box removal, which may come as a surprise if you've been following the general discussion around the practice for the past few years.

Ever since the Battlefront 2 debacle, criticism from players, press, and governments has led publishers to defend loot boxes, remove them, or publish drop rates as a concession. Our readers overwhelmingly express distaste for loot boxes when we report on them. See the replies to this tweet, for instance.

There are plenty of Rocket League players who are happy paid loot boxes are going away—Rocket League pro Tigreee responded with hearts—but clearly the idea that everyone hates them is false. When a community of traders and YouTubers and fashion aficionados forms around the practice, as it has in other games as well, opinions start to vary. (There's also some generalized Epic hate involved here.)

Personally, I'm glad paid loot boxes are going. I admit I've occasionally enjoyed having ultra-rare items, but to get that stuff I've spent a lot of money on crap that just clogs my inventory until I can trade it up. I'd much rather be able to express myself with themed car designs without having to throw money away on decals I'll never use.

Besides, pretty much everyone I play with and against in Diamond-level Snow Day is decked out with animated decals and fancy goal explosions and painted wheels. It's how you put those things together that's interesting these days.

In April, Rocket League developer Psyonix disabled crate keys in Belgium and the Netherlands in order to bring the game into compliance with new loot box regulations in those countries. Today it went a step further—a big step further—by announcing that it's ditching them entirely.

"Here at Psyonix, and Epic Games as a whole, we are dedicated to creating the best possible experience for our players all over the world," the studio said. "In pursuit of that goal, later this year we will remove all paid, randomized Crates from Rocket League, replacing them with a system that shows the exact items you’re buying in advance."

Full details will be revealed later, but Psyonix said the new system will be similar to Fortnite Save the World's X-Ray Llamas, which enable players to see what's inside loot crates before purchasing them. Rocket Pass Premium, DLC Cars, and Esports Shop items will remain available for direct purchase when the new system goes live, which is expected to happen later this year.

You've got a little over a month to earn those Grand Champ rewards—or dream of doing that—before Rocket League's current competitive season ends on August 27. On that day, we'll get an update and season 12 will begin.

In addition, "the gap between Rocket Pass 2 and Rocket Pass 3 was too long," wrote Psyonix in its new roadmap, so Rocket Pass 3 is being extended to the end of this season. There won't be any new challenges, but you can keep unlocking those question marks right up until the start of Rocket Pass 4, which will coincide with the start of the new competitive season on August 27.

There's no other big news in today's update, just a few notes and updates. High dynamic range audio is coming, the promised (and much needed) improved inventory management tools should be finished before the end of the year, "automated, scheduled tournaments" will be introduced as part of an upgrade to the tournaments system, and the Haunted Hallows event is coming back this fall. 

We're also told that in the next Rocket Pass, weekly challenges won't expire. New challenges will be added every week, but you'll have until the end of the pass to complete them.

One cute update is that two stats are being added to all game modes: high-five and low-five. You'll record a high-five by colliding with a teammate mid-air after scoring, and a low-five by doing the same while on the ground. Hoops is also getting a swish stat for goals that don't touch the rim. Presumably those will come with the season 12 update, though no timeline was given.

Psyonix also hinted that we can get a sneak peek at Rocket Pass 4's featured car by scouring the Radical Summer trailer above. Thank you to a few YouTube commenters who pointed out that, at 21 seconds into the video, the butt of a car is visible. It's not much of a tease, but it's there if you want a peek.

Correction: The original Rocket League roadmap post and the original version of this article stated that season 12 would start August 28, but it will actually start August 27.