Diablo Immortal Launch Blocked In Belgium And Netherlands Over Loot Field Legal guidelines
On: May 31, 2022
Diablo: Immortal is about to launch in just some quick days. However, followers of the collection in sure international locations will probably be unable to play the game. Specifically, Diablo Immortal is not going to be obtainable within the Netherlands or Belgium on account of legal guidelines that prohibit loot containers.
An Activision Blizzard spokesperson confirmed earlier at present, “Diablo: Immortal will not be available in Belgium or the Netherlands, and will not appear on Battle.net or the Belgian and Netherlands App or Google Play Stores.” It additional famous the game’s inaccessibility is because of “current operating environment for games in those countries.” Players from these international locations are unable to pre-register for the game.
This is a quite imprecise assertion, however an Activision Blizzard worker offered extra perception, as detailed in a buyer assist chat posted to Reddit.
“The loot containers within the game are towards the legislation in your nation, so until the playing restrictions change, the game is not going to be launched within the Netherlands and Belgium,” the support rep noted. The rep also stated that any person from the Netherlands or Belgium who attempts to download the game may face legal repercussions or may be banned from the game. They noted that players have been banned in the past when similar situations occurred.
Both Belgium and the Netherlands declared video game loot boxes illegal in 2018 as they determined that they violated their gambling legislation. Belgium particularly contended that loot boxes were “dangerous for mental health,” especially for children, hence the Diablo: Immortal ban. The Netherlands Gaming Authority insisted that loot boxes “have integral elements that are similar to slot machines” and are therefore highly addictive. Companies like EA Sports have argued that its loot boxes should not be considered gambling, but both Belgium and the Netherlands have maintained their stances.
Diablo: Immortal has already faced its fair share of controversy. Players at first were deeply disappointed when Activision Blizzard announced Diablo: Immortal instead of Diablo IV. Players were also upset because the game originally was supposed to only be released on mobile. However, gamers voiced their displeasure and the game will now also be available on PC. Furthermore, players in countries besides Belgium and the Netherlands will be able to enjoy full cross-play and cross-progression support. Diablo: Immortal will come out June 2nd, 2022 for Android, iOS, and PC.
