Blizzard will not sell its Diablo Immortal in countries with laws against loot boxes. A strong solution for the studio.
In recent years, loot boxes – these virtual objects, often in the form of chests, that offer the player various upgrades, paid or not – have proliferated in video games. And it caused a lot of controversy not only in the community, but also in some governments, some saw it as nothing more or less than a gambling system, since the content is more often than not random. In fact, some laws have been passed against them. This is the concern of publishers and developers. Blizzard has made a firm decision regarding its long-awaited Diablo Immortal.
Blizzard won’t offer its Diablo Immortal in countries with anti-loot box laws
Don’t expect to be able to play Diablo Immortal in the Netherlands when the game officially releases this week. GamesIndustry.biz and Tweakers have learned that Blizzard will not be offering its free-to-play game in the Netherlands or Belgium due to their “gambling restrictions”, specifically laws against loot boxes. It will also be illegal for residents of these countries to download the game from another country, and Blizzard Support has warned that they cannot guarantee that players from affected countries will be able to avoid the ban.
In 2018, Belgium and the Netherlands concluded that some loot boxes, especially those that can be bought or traded for real money, are considered gambling. Diablo Immortal has restricted access to its most valuable stat-boosting items, such as some Legendary Gems, behind Legendary Chests, which are often easier to obtain with real money. While the items you get are often very good – to the point where some consider it unfair – the attributes are random. So it can push players to pay to get the perfect item and can lead to addictive behavior or at least encourage it.
A strong solution for the studio
Blizzard stopped selling loot boxes for other games in Belgium after the country decided to end the practice. The studio is not alone in this situation. EA, Konami, Nintendo and Psyonix – from Epic – have removed games to avoid violating the country’s loot box laws. In any case, Blizzard has made the firm decision not to launch its Diablo Immortal game in these countries, instead of making small changes to its gameplay.