Italy’s antitrust authorities have launched an investigation into Microsoft-owned gaming company Activision Blizzard amid claims it has used predatory game monetisation such as “loot boxes” and pay-to-progress designs in its popular mobile games Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty Mobile to target and exploit children and other players.
Italy, supported by consumer protection authorities in Norway and Denmark, is first seeking to find if the games company’s practices constituted a “widespread infringement” of EU consumer protection rules following player and public backlash in recent years.
