Last week, Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile launched around the world for iPhone and Android, except in the Netherlands and Belgium. Why are we fishing behind the net on yet another great game?
After Call of Duty: Mobile, there is now also a Warzone game out for iPhone and Android. Yet you can’t find it on the App Store or Google Play.
Publisher Activision has chosen not to release Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile in the Netherlands and Belgium. After Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, another major mobile game is not coming to the Netherlands. What is the reason behind this?
This is Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile
Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile brings the Warzone experience to the iPhone and Android. It works exactly the same as the version you’re used to from PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X. With 120 men you are dropped on an island and the goal is to be the last one left.
Currently, the maps of Verdansk and Rebirth Island are available. Multiplayer maps such as Shipment, Shoot House and Scarpyard are also available. The beauty of the game is that you can take your progress on your iPhone or Android with you to the version on console or PC.
What’s going on in the Netherlands and Belgium?
True Call of Duty fans were constantly refreshing the App Store and Google Play last week then. Warzone Mobile was finally coming to iPhone and Android devices. It did, but not in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Developer Activision has since confirmed that Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is not coming to the iPhone and Android. So stop searching App Store and Google Play. Why exactly that is, however, the company does not say.
Still, the reason is easy to guess: loot boxes. These are sort of treasure boxes in the game that give you random items. Compare it to a pack of Pokémon cards you buy at the store. You never know exactly what’s inside.
What loot boxes are in Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile?
In Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile it works pretty much the same way with what is known as The Keep. This is a store coming to the game in the future where players will receive random cosmetic items in exchange for COD Points. So you don’t know in advance what you are buying. It is precisely because of this randomness that there is a lot of controversy and that causes it to be seen as gambling, as it can lead to addiction.
Gambling sites are not prohibited in the Netherlands, provided they comply with certain legislation and have applied for a license. Still, gambling legislation is not very black and white, as there is quite a gray area. In that area, for example, is EA Sport FC. The Dutch Gaming Authority wanted to crack down on the game because of Ultimate Team.
According to the organization, EA Sports could apply for a gaming license, but to do so, players had to be at least 18 years old. Something that is a problem with the game because many players are younger. Another option was to remove Ultimate Team from the game.
EA eventually went to court, but it lost the first lawsuit. On appeal, it finally reached the Council of State. That ruled that FIFA was not a gambling game but a game of skill which allowed the game to keep the mode in the game. This was partly because only 8 percent paid for the packs and so the rest played it without spending extra money.
So what about mobile games?
Of course, that sets a precedent and possibly for Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile as well. After all, when is it gambling or not? Still, new games cannot simply assume that they fall under the same ruling.
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However, many companies do not want to take the risk of still falling under the gaming laws, so they preemptively do not release the game in the Netherlands. That saves possible fines and perhaps a trip to court. Also because the Dutch government is still working on legislation.
There are already quite a few big mobile games besides Call of Duty: Warzone that have not come to the Netherlands. For example, you will not be able to play games like Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, Pokémon Masters and Diablo Immortal here on your iPhone. So companies seem to be mostly playing it safe.