Diablo Immortal fined ridiculous sum over loot box scandal

Even though Diablo IV is right around the corner, and as fans get amped for what's to come from the next behemoth of a mainline title, it seems that many have forgotten its most immediate predecessor.

Diablo Immortal proved itself to be great fun for both new and old fans on the go, and made a good case for the franchise's future on smartphones - but many had incredibly strong feelings about its loot box system, which seemed to leech money from fans without ever disclosing their presence.

Players weren't happy, and many simply boycotted the game for its grim practices and pay-to-win accusations. Now, as the legal process has come to a close, Blizzard is getting its comeuppance - and it might not be as joyous as you may have hoped.

Blizzard gets measly fine for Diablo Immortal loot boxes

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In a pretty shocking turn for those who have suffered losses both in ways of finance and in meagre loot returns, Diablo Immortal has just been dealt its sentence for failing to disclose its loot boxes, and it's not quite going to keep them from doing it again.

PEGI's Enforcement Committee has now officially fined Activision Blizzard a paltry €5000 for its failures to tell players that loot boxes were even involved in the game. The governing body has also issued the same fine to Plaion, which did the same thing with the Limited Bounty Hunter Edition of Hunt: Showdown.

"Both games were published in 2022 and although they contain paid random items (like loot boxes or card packs), this was not disclosed to PEGI when the games were submitted for a rating license," reads a new statement from the company.

"Since this amounts to a violation of the rules described in the PEGI Code of Conduct, the PEGI Enforcement Committee sanctioned both companies with a fine of 5000€. The companies had also taken immediate action to update relevant store listings and marketing materials."

Why are fans angry with Diablo Immortal's fine?

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It's clear to see exactly why fans are furious with Blizzard for this action and the fine it has received - namely, because it's all down to deception.

Fans have known that mainline franchises coming to mobile means microtransactions are on the way (after all, if Nintendo is bold enough to do it, then the gate is wide open for everyone else), there's still a huge deal of frustration when games rely on microtransactions for actual gameplay and progress to materialise - especially when those micro-transactions aren't declared.

It was incredibly disappointing to see how Diablo Immortal turned out, but equally as disappointing to see PEGI fail to punish the company effectively for it.