At this point, it would take something monumentally stupid to reverse the “loot box” trend in video games. The practice, which combines real money, virtual items, and random chance, has been found in various free-to-play games for years (and has been showing up more in fully priced retail games recently). The sales pitch, in short: by paying a little more real cash, a player will more quickly unlock a random item in the game (and see a flashy animation of a box opening—that part is apparently crucial).

This racket often skates by because game makers say that they’re hiding “non-essential” and “cosmetic” items in these boxes. Game makers also point out that these “random item” boxes can almost always be earned simply by playing the game. Who’s losing out?

The problem, as far as I’m concerned, is the poison these random-prize systems inject into their games’ design. I’ve been biding my time, waiting for a loot box system so stupid and unnecessary that I can finally name and deconstruct the demonic practice in no uncertain terms. For that reason, I wholeheartedly thank Turn 10 and Microsoft Studios for the loot-box disaster that they’ve cooked into this week’s release of Forza Motorsport 7.