{{Infobox video game | image = Zhengtu logo.png | image_size = | developer = Zhengtu Network | publisher = Zhengtu Network | director = | producer = | artist = | writer = | composer = | series = | platforms = Microsoft Windows | released = {{vgrelease|WW|2007}} | genre = Massively multiplayer online role-playing game | modes = Single-player, multiplayer |caption = |alt = }}'''''Zhengtu Online''''' ({{zh|s=征途|t=征途|p=Zhēngtú|l=Expedition}}) was a MMORPG developed and run by Shanghai based Zhengtu Network.<ref name="gamesutra">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070408140437/http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13369 Gamasutra - The China Angle: Wii Piracy, World Of Warcraft Beaten?<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> It was released in 2007<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vg247.com/2017/11/24/the-loot-box-stink-how-did-we-end-up-in-this-mess/|title = The loot box stink: How did we end up in this mess?|date = 24 November 2017}}</ref> and it became a success in that same year, with a monthly profit of $15.52 million.<ref name="gamas">{{cite web| url = https://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13369| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070408140437/http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13369| url-status = dead| archive-date = April 8, 2007| title = Gamasutra - The China Angle: Wii Piracy, World Of Warcraft Beaten?}}</ref> Also in 2007, the game recorded 2.8 million daily active players and 860,265 peak concurrent users (PCU) on March 23.<ref name="gamas" /> In 2008 it reached 1.52 million peak concurrent users, becoming the second most popular online game, after Fantasy Westward Journey with 1.66 million peak concurrent users.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/online-games-market-in-china-to-reach-3-bln-by-2010/|title = Online games market in China to reach $3 BLN by 2010|website = ZDNet}}</ref>
''Zhengtu'' ceased operations on 26 December 2018.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}
==Loot box pioneer== The game pioneered loot box predatory monetisation mechanics. It featured the now-canonical lock-and-key system made famous by Counter-Strike, but would also show you all the loot that a chest could contain on a circle reminiscent of Wheel of Fortune. According to the Southern Weekly article that describes ZT: "Chests will frequently contain the high-class equipment that gamers desire, but the spinning light wheel always passes over them."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pcgamer.com/the-evolution-of-loot-boxes/ | title=The evolution of loot boxes | website=PC Gamer | date=8 December 2017 | last1=Wright | first1=Steven T. }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.wired.com/story/loot-boxes-predatory-monetization-games/ | title=It's Not Just Loot Boxes: Predatory Monetization is Everywhere | magazine=Wired | last1=Bedingfield | first1=Will }}</ref>
==References== <references/>
==External links== *[http://www.ztgame.com.cn Official website]
Category:Inactive massively multiplayer online games Category:Massively multiplayer online role-playing games Category:Video games developed in China
{{mmorpg-videogame-stub}}