Activision Blizzard Fined For Not Disclosing Diablo: Immortal Loot Boxes To PEGI

thegamer.com:

Activision Blizzard has been fined €5000 for failing to disclose the presence of loot boxes to the PEGI rating agency in Diablo Immortal. Hunt: Showdown publisher Plaion was fined the same amount for the same reason.

The PEGI Complaints Board and Enforcement Committee recently posted its decisions regarding a number of cases brought forward. Topping the list was both Diablo Immortal and Hunt: Showdown Bounty Hunter - Limited Edition, which both contain loot boxes (or loot box-like elements) but don't say so on their ratings.

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"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," the rating agency wrote. "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."

In addition to the small fines, both companies have been told to update their relevant store listings and marketing materials to reflect the presence of in-game loot boxes.

Diablo Immortal rather famously launched with a particularly predatory monetization scheme that included the aforementioned loot box mechanics. In fact, one player calculated that it would require $100,000 USD to fully upgrade a single Diablo Immortal character. This perhaps helped explains why Diablo Immortal was estimated to have made Activision Blizzard over $1 million per day in its first month of availability.

It also makes PEGI's paltry €5000 an ineffective enforcement mechanism as it represents less than a single percent of Activision Blizzard's daily revenue from