Bad news for anyone living in Belgium or the Netherlands who was looking forward to Diablo Immortal, Blizzard’s next free-to-play dungeon crawler released on June 2 for PC and mobile devices. Blizzard’s next action role-playing game has not been released in any region due to local lootbox rules. And it seems unlikely that Blizzard will update the game to comply with those local rules anytime soon, leaving affected players with few options.

Major developers and publishers are affected

Making matters worse for players, Blizzard reportedly allowed players in Belgium and the Netherlands to pre-load the game before release. Users in those countries were able to preload the game after the release date was announced. However, this option was discreetly withdrawn a few days later.

Diablo Immortal is not the first game to violate European legislation against lootboxes and gambling.

Companies like EA have been hit with severe sanctions in countries like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom for their continued use of treasure boxes. Some publishers have avoided releasing games in certain countries in response to the increasing demand for these purchasable random boxes.

Other companies, such as Rockstar, have blocked certain gambling or microtransaction features in the game, depending on where you play. Some games, such as Fortnite and Rocket League, have changed or eliminated their loot boxes altogether, which is a good thing considering how much these in-app purchases and stores increasingly look and act like casino slot machines in Online Casino Germany – https://www.casinoonlinespielen.info/, even in big games that cost around 60 euros.

Activision Blizzard has changed its plans

The release date of Diablo Immortal has been secretly postponed by Activision Blizzard. Due to rules and laws in those countries, the free-to-play role-playing game is not available in Belgium or the Netherlands. The publisher of Call of Duty and Overwatch confirmed to the source that the game was not released on June 2 in the previously mentioned countries due to “current difficulties” in those countries.

A player shared a statement from a Blizzard gamemaster in the Diablo Immortal subreddit, revealing more specifically that Immortal is not available in some regions due to regulations banning lootboxes.

The same employee also stated that players could try to bypass the restriction, but this could result in a ban from Blizzard.

Are we being exploited by lootboxes?

The introduction of randomized loot boxes in games like Shadow of War and Star Wars Battlefront II has sparked a debate about their use in video games. Discussions about the imbalance in multiplayer and limited game content overlook a key fact: loot boxes are an ethical problem. They primarily serve to exploit players and develop addictions.

Loot boxes in video games are digital artifacts that allow players to obtain rare items. It’s similar to unwrapping a surprise box. You could get something incredibly cool or a pile of junk.

They’ve also found a way into the gaming world of Japan, where games with random reward mechanisms have been dubbed “gacha,” after the toy machines known as “gachapon.” Gacha has become a mainstay in mobile game design and seems to be popular everywhere.

What is the system behind loot boxes?

Gacha systems, especially loot boxes, are already a common element in mobile games around the world, and they have recently entered AAA titles like Overwatch or League of Legends.

Loot crates can be obtained through gameplay or purchased with specific currencies earned by completing objectives in many of these games, but they are also often available with real money. In this way, many game developers expect their customers to actually buy loot boxes. The boxes are both a lure and a trap, and to be precise, a clever economic trap to extract money from players.

Loot boxes are also designed to drive personal sales by offering incentives that are both unique and seemingly always attainable, if usually tantalizingly unattainable.

Leveling by playing or spending money?

Rarity is often implied rather than stated. Most games do not disclose the odds of winning their loot boxes, but some do. Due to Japanese regulations mandating such a practice outside of Japan, the mobile game Fire Emblem: Heroes reveals the possibility of summoning new characters of varying quality in the game itself. In Heroes, there is a three percent chance of getting a 5 star character for each summon, with this number increasing with numerous summons.

According to figures released as part of the Chinese rules, Overwatch crates are designed to give players a Legendary quality item after opening an average of 13.5 crates. These numbers may vary from country to country. The idea is to distribute the loot so frequently that players believe they are always close to getting good loot, while the probability is low enough to create an incentive to buy more crates.

By offering loot crates as a prize for playing, games with loot crates often show that you are always on the way to another possible reward. If you play enough Overwatch to level up, you get a crate.

This is a regulated reward plan designed to allow players to get loot crates without buying them.

Some players prefer the short route

Since players have the ability to acquire boxes all the time if they put in enough time and effort, and the chance to earn a reward, they are given the option to overcome the math and just buy a loot box whenever they want, provided they have the money (or, more importantly and dangerously, the credit).

Players can speed this up by buying crates. This concept also applies to in-game currency. Loot crates and in-game currency are designed to give players more flexibility in earning prizes while providing enticing shortcuts to their next legendary skin or weapon.