Diablo Immortal, a mobile free play entry to the Diablo franchise, was released early on Wednesday worldwide, with the exception of the Netherlands and Belgium. Why are these countries inaccessible to new games? A law prohibiting the sale of loot boxes.
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A post on the Diablo Immortal subreddit from May 23 contained a screenshot of a reply from a Blizzard Entertainment employee in Europe who confirmed that players in Belgium and the Netherlands would not be able to install the game upon release. Dutch tech site Tweakers confirmed the game unavailability due to anti-gambling laws in countries that also prohibit loot boxes, as first seen on GameIndustry.biz Monday. Players who try to get around the ban to play the game are being banned from Blizzard Entertainment Battle.net.
Loot boxes are bags of in-game content that are purchased using certain in-game currencies and usually require real money. Both Belgium and the Netherlands passed legislation banning these forms of gambling in 2018, while other European countries have considered their own legislation. In 2019, Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley called for a ban on loot boxes in the United States.
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Blizzard Entertainment did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Diablo Immortal will be set after the Diablo II event. Players control one of six classes: Barbarian, Wizard, Monk, Necromancer, Demon Hunter, and Crusader, and destroy Worldstone debris. This game is the first mobile game in the series, but will be released Thursday on Battle.net for PC players. With the launch on Wednesday, it will be available for Android and iOS.
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