Five years after the destruction of the Worldstone, Sanctuary is thrown into despair as ancient evils gather and exploit pieces of the artifact, putting humanity in more peril than ever before. Those looking forward to the game in Belgium and the Netherlands will likely miss out entirely – even after enduring the long wait for news of the highly-anticipated launch.Diablo Immortal bridges the story between Diablo II and Diablo III. According to developers, these microtransactions will ‘ never circumvent core gameplay‘ – meaning there is no way to spend money to level up faster than other players, and that the game can be played loot box-free.ĭespite this, it appears there will be no workaround for players in impacted countries, with the game being outright banned, rather than modified. The frustrating part for fans in Belgium and the Netherlands is that the game’s loot box system does not appear to be essential, with the game remaining free-to-play as long as players exercise restraint. It appears neither country will be able to download the game at all – and even sideloading the game or changing storefronts could lead to permanent bans for keen players. If you manage to run the game I cannot guarantee that you will not be banned for it,’ a Blizzard employee reportedly said. ‘The lootboxes 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. In a post on the Diablo Immortal subreddit (shared by ), Activision Blizzard further explained the changes to the game’s upcoming launch. Read: Every major video game launching in June 2022 It’s unknown why it took the company so long to announce this change, given these laws have been in place for years – but it may be that the game was only banned in the process of classification or final approval. While it appears the Netherlands ban was overturned in 2022, the country remains strict on these features, and it’s likely for this reason that Activision Blizzard has pulled the launch of the game. Belgium instituted a firm ‘no loot box’ policy in 2018 – and the Netherlands attempted the same in 2020. These were eventually delivered by an Activision Blizzard community manager, who confirmed to tech site Tweakers that Diablo Immortal was no longer releasing in these countries due to ‘operating conditions’ – likely referencing legislation around gambling and loot boxes in video games.īoth Belgium and the Netherlands have recently cracked down on loot boxes in games, with companies such as Blizzard, Nintendo and Konami being required to halt sales in both countries over these laws.
Fans were quick to notice the change, and immediately took to the internet for answers. Diablo Immortal is set to launch worldwide on 2 June 2022 – but it appears the game will no longer be releasing in Belgium and the Netherlands, following its removal on the Apple and Google Play stores.
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