Diablo Immortal loot boxes Activision Blizzard will pay a ridiculous fine in Europe

Microtransactions immortal devil been the cause of complaints, debates and discussions since the game was announced at Blizzcon 2018. And again when it was launched in mid-2022. But the game’s offensive mechanics free to play did not go unnoticed by PEGI. In recent hours, it has become known that Activision Blizzard fined for not reporting that there are random paid items in the game –loot boxesoh well – when applying for classification.

The Complaints and Compliance Committees of the body responsible for classifying video game content in Europe have decided to subject the American publisher to an exemplary punishment… a ridiculous fine. Is that director Bobby Kotick? they will have to pay no more and no less than 5,000 euros. Yes, you read it right. Five thousand euros.

It is more than clear that “exemplary punishment” is nothing more than sarcasm. According to the decree, without reporting the presence loot boxes V immortal devil, Activision Blizzard has violated PEGI’s code of conduct and must pay. What is really curious is that the number is ridiculousespecially for a company that generates billions of dollars a year.

But one does not even need to go to extremes to compare the 5,000 euros in question with the general finances of an American firm. Despite harsh criticism, immortal devil it was a goldmine for its developers. In the first available month earned nearly $50 million through his microtransactions.; of which 11.9 million received them within the first week.

This means that, on average, he made $1.7 million a day for the first 7 days. Any calculation shows that at most immortal devil it took several hours to earn the €5,000 claimed by PEGI. for not reporting the inclusion loot boxes. And that’s a bigger problem than you think.

Activision Blizzard faces a small fine loot boxes from immortal devil

Debate on morality loot boxes which are part of countless video games, have been around for many years and exceed immortal devil. Some countries, especially in Europe, have made significant efforts to regulate or prohibitto avoid gambling.

At the time, the Netherlands forced companies like EA, Blizzard or 2K to remove them from their games. And even applied a fine of 10 million euros to Electronic Arts for refusing to remove them from FIFA 21. At the same time, Spain intends to veto its use by minors under 18 years of age. However, it is clear that the business remains profitable enough to continue despite threats and punishments.

In fact, PEGI’s decision against Activision Blizzard for immortal devil may be counterproductive in the fight against loot boxes. It is possible that the body does not have sufficient competence to apply a more severe sanction, at least in the case of this kind of violation. But one cannot but think that while there is no true heavy hand for discourage abusive practices with microtransactionsThere will be no solution to this problem.

When immortal devilThe possibility of using an exemplary reprimand could even be missed. Blizzard and NetEase’s game has been heavily criticized for pushing players to spend exorbitantly in order to enjoy it to the fullest. Something that has been noticed especially since level 30, when character development does not match the complexity of the game and makes you pay for loot boxes – The Elder Rifts – to get the necessary legendary gems.

Thus, it has been learned that in order to maximize the character immortal devil you have to spend about $540,000. Real madness, especially for a “free” game.