‘Diablo Immortal’ is being investigated for false advertising

Legal firm Migliaccio & Rathod LLP has announced that it is investigating Blizzard Entertainment‘s Diablo Immortal over false advertising claims.

In an article published by the legal firm, Migliaccio & Rathod LLP says it is looking into “Activision Blizzard’s false advertisement of the effect of a purchasable, in-game item in Diablo Immortal.”

The item in question is Blessing of the Worthy, a five-star legendary gem that provides significant upgrades and can be bought through microtransaction bundles. However, Migliaccio & Rathod LLP claim that levelling up the gem changes it in “detrimental” ways that cause it to be much weaker than its purchasable level advertises.

This is because while the second-level gem gives players a chance to deal damage equal to their maximum health, its third-level description says the damage is equal to players’ current health. In practice, this can make the gem provide a significant amount less damage than initially advertised.

“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,” claims the investigator. “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.”

Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is currently requesting anyone who has purchased Blessing of the Worthy to reach out so it can evaluate “potential claims” that may be available.

Additionally, the legal firm says the case was brought to its attention by Communications Workers of America (CWA), a union that helped workers at Activision Blizzard organise throughout 2022.

In other gaming news, Halo Infinite‘s creative director will be leaving 343 Industries to rejoin Xbox‘s publishing division.