There is never a dull moment in the gaming world. Yesterday we started the morning off with some feel-good news about Awesome Games Done Quick 2023, raising over $2.6 Million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. This morning we’re covering a false advertising lawsuit—gaming, where the actual game is the industry itself.
Blizzard’s free-to-play Diablo Immortal has found itself back in the media again, only this time it’s not for its microtransactions or record-breaking financial success; no, this time, it’s because a law firm specializing in class-action lawsuits is investigating the game for false advertising. Fun.
This morning the Migliaccio & Rathod law firm announced its search for any players who have purchased a Legendary gem, Blessing of the Worthy, in-game to join their class action lawsuit. The gem in question was sold in various in-game bundles that went up to $100, roughly R1700 in price.
If you shelled your hard-earned gold coins on this gem, it’s probably because the gem’s description initially declared that it would grant users a 20% chance to do damage worth 12% of a player’s maximum life, making it worth its weight in gold for some players. However, when the item reached upgrade level three, the description changed to read that it deals damage based on the player’s current life, not their maximum life.
The wording and stat change on the gem makes it far less attractive. When those who had purchased the item reached out to Blizzard about concerns, the company clarified that the description used for the level three version of the gem was correct and promptly changed the level one and two descriptions accordingly.
Now, this is fine; mistakes happen, and Blizzard did end up addressing it. However, the problem lies in the fact that Blizzard refused to offer any compensation or refunds to players who purchased Blessing of the Worthy based on its original description. Now it seems like Blizzard will be the ones shelling coins.
Migliaccio & Rathod has credited the Communication Workers of America for bringing this issue to their attention and calling the fact that Blizzard took money for the gem and then later changed the description an act of false advertising.
“Rather than offer refunds or some form of compensation, Blizzard has instead responded to the Blizzard community by stating that they will change the item’s text description to reflect its actual effect, at level three,. This practice essentially amounts to a bait-and-switch, since a purchasable item was advertised with one effect that players wanted and ended up with something completely different.”