Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: belgium, blizzard, Heroes of the Storm, loot boxes, overwatch

Blizzard Disables Loot Boxes for Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm in Belgium

Published Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:45:44 -0500

Today, Blizzard issued a statement on its forums letting people know that loot boxes have been disabled for two games in Belgium. Specifically for Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm. Following the trend that Valve first started with CS:GO a few weeks ago, the company is following the local law after they had been considered gambling. You can read the statement below, as well as the reactions for players on their forums here.

In April 2018, the Belgian Gaming Commission published a report that was endorsed by the Belgian Ministry of Justice in which they concluded that paid loot boxes in Overwatch are considered gambling under local law. While we at Blizzard were surprised by this conclusion and do not share the same opinion, we have decided to comply with their interpretation of Belgian law. As a result, we have no choice but to implement measures that will prevent Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm players located in Belgium from purchasing in-game loot boxes and loot chests with real money and gems.

No matter what, we want to make sure that our players around the world have the best entertainment experience possible. While players in Belgium will no longer be able to purchase paid loot boxes in Overwatch and loot chests in Heroes of the Storm, they'll still be able to earn them by playing the games, and they'll still have access to all in-game content.

These measures will be implemented shortly. We also remain open to further discussions with the Belgian Gaming Commission and Ministry of Justice on this topic.

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