More and more bad karma seems to be hitting Microsoft in the gaming world. This time, it is from Italian authorities.
Italy’s competition watchdog opened investigations into Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard over how it sells popular mobile games Call of Duty Mobile and Diablo Immortal, according to ground reports.
Italy’s competition authority said it has launched two investigations into allegedly “misleading and aggressive” sales practices involving the two free-to-play titles, Reuters reported
The regulator, which also looks after consumer rights, said Activision Blizzard may be “operating in a manner that violates consumer protection legislation” and failing to show the level of professional care needed in a sector highly sensitive to gambling addiction risks.
Unlike regions like North America, Italy has much more stringent rules when it comes to real-money gaming, which more often than not blurs the lines with gambling.
For Microsoft, recent Xbox sales misses, the disastrous Xbox Game Pass debacle, and multiple reports of gamers criticising the corporation for overmonetising games, seem to have created a domino effect. In fact, Microsoft's gaming arm—which used to go toe-to-toe with Sony PlayStation—has now been surpassed by Nintendo Switch in the console wars. The latest development in mobile gaming adds to the company’s woes.
In‑game purchases and virtual currency
According to the authority, the probes focus on how players are pushed to buy extra content during and outside gaming sessions through in‑app messages and push notifications.
Officials are particularly worried about the use of virtual currencies, warning that gamers, including minors, could end up spending “significant sums”—sometimes more than needed to progress in the game—without fully realising how much real money they are using, REUTERS reported.
Parental controls and player rights
The regulator also criticised default parental control settings and the way information about players’ contractual rights is presented.
It said the current setup appears to lead users to unknowingly waive certain rights, and flagged limited options to challenge the blocking of gaming accounts, which can result in losing money already spent on digital content.
Microsoft’s Italian press office has not yet responded to requests for comment on the investigations, Reuters pointed out. Call of Duty and Diablo are among the world’s most popular video game franchises, so any regulatory action could have a wider impact on how in‑game purchases are handled across the industry.
