Diablo Immortal is a long-awaited free-to-play entry in the series designed for mobile devices. It’s launching on Android and iOS, though a release is also slated for Windows PCs, too. However, gamers in Belgium and the Netherlands won’t be able to play the game, as developer Activision Blizzard has confirmed that the game will not be launching in either of those regions.

For context, both Belgium and the Netherlands have taken issue with lootboxes in video games and previously declared them as gambling. Some games, such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, don’t offer their microtransaction in-game cases in these regions as a result. In the Netherlands, this is because of a court case that EA battled for four years, though the company eventually won out. It seems that Activision Blizzard doesn’t want to take any chances, though.

“Diablo Immortal will not be available in Belgium or the Netherlands, and will not appear on Battle.net or the Belgian and Netherlands App or Google Play Stores,” an Activision Blizzard spokesperson told Eurogamer. “This is related to the current operating environment for games in those countries. Accordingly, pre-registrations for the game are not accessible in those markets.”

On Reddit, a user allegedly received the following message from Activision Blizzard support after making a ticket about the game’s availability in those affected regions.

“Unfortunately players in the Netherlands and Belgium will not be able to install Diablo: Immortal due to the countries’ gambling restrictions. The lootboxes in the game are against the law in your country, so unless the gambling restrictions change the game will not be released,” it reads.

“It would be illegal for you to download the game in another country like France. If you manage to run the game I cannot guarantee that you will not be banned for it.”

It is unclear if the game will ever launch in either of those regions. Given the game’s free-to-play nature, it’s one of the primary ways that the game will be able to make money, and it may make it unprofitable to launch there as a result.

Source: /r/DiabloImmortal, Eurogamer