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Square Enix is the latest of many developers to be affected by loot box laws in Belgium, alongside the likes of EA, Blizzard, 2K, and Valve.

Alissa McAloon, Publisher

November 8, 2018

1 Min Read

Three Square Enix mobile games will be pulled from stores before the end of the year in order to keep the company on the up-and-up with the Belgium gaming commission and its rules on loot boxes use in games.

According to Pocket Gamer, that means that Mobius Final Fantasy will be removed on November 30, followed by Kingdom Hearts Union X on December 6 and Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia on December 19.

Each of the games uses loot boxes in some way to monetize, something that the Belgium gaming commission has said is not allowed under the country’s gambling laws as of a ruling made earlier this year.

Other developers have felt the sting of the legislation as well. For some like 2K and Blizzard, that means loot boxes have been altered or flat out removed from games released in the region. Others like Valve have had to limit trading options in games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in addition to changing how loot boxes themselves operate.

For Square Enix, the delisting comes after a particularly difficult week that saw both the resignation of Final Fantasy XV game director Hajime Tabata and a 15 percent fall in net sales recorded in the company’s latest financial report.

About the Author(s)

Alissa McAloon

Publisher, GameDeveloper.com

As the Publisher of Game Developer, Alissa McAloon brings a decade of experience in the video game industry and media. When not working in the world of B2B game journalism, Alissa enjoys spending her time in the worlds of immersive sandbox games or dabbling in the occasional TTRPG.

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