Blizzard Entertainment brings Diablo Immortal not in the Netherlands and Belgium. This concerns both the mobile version and the PC version.
Activision-Blizzard Benelux has confirmed to Tweakers that the game will not be available in the Netherlands and Belgium via the app stores and Battle.net. The company’s representative cites “the current operating conditions in these countries” as the sole reason.
Since Diablo Immortal is free-to-play, it is likely that loot boxes are an important part of the studio’s revenue model. The reason for not releasing the game in the Netherlands and Belgium seems to have to do with the legislation regarding loot boxes.
Lootboxes in games are classified as gambling and therefore illegal by the Belgian authorities. For that reason, Electronic Arts, for example, is not allowed to sell FIFA Points in the country. In Dutch, the rules regarding loot boxes are a bit more flexible, but that is no reason for Blizzard Entertainment to release the game here for the time being.
For what it’s worth, the Diablo Immortal release is June 2. The game will be available on PC, Android and iOS.
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