Diablo Immortal Launch Blocked In Belgium And Netherlands Over Loot Box Laws
An Activision Blizzard spokesperson confirmed earlier today, “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 further noted the game’s inaccessibility is due to “current operating environment for games in those countries.” Players from these countries are unable to pre-register for the game.
This is a rather vague statement, but an Activision Blizzard employee provided more insight, as detailed in a customer support chat posted to Reddit.
“The loot boxes in the game are against the law in your country, so unless the gambling restrictions change, the game will not be released in 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.
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.
Images courtesy of Activision Blizzard.
