Final Fantasy Record Keeper to shut down in Belgium due to loot box issue

Final Fantasy Record Keeper will be closing down in Belgium due to loot box legal concerns. The closure will be taking place early 2022.

According to the in-game notice, the reason for the closure is cited as “uncertain legal status of loot boxes under Belgian law”. As such, Final Fantasy Record Keeper will end its services in the country as early as January 12, 2021. You can read a screenshot of the in-game notice below:

Even though Final Fantasy Record Keeper is a mobile gacha game, gacha mechanics and loot box systems bear a lot of similarities, namely a reliance on RNG for a chance to get a particular reward.

Belgium is one of the few countries that are doubling down on loot box systems in video games ever since the EA loot box controversy with Star Wars Battlefront II back in 2017. Games like Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm have removed the ability for Belgian players to purchase loot boxes as a result. However, considering that the gacha mechanic for Final Fantasy Record Keeper is a significant feature (and not a cosmetic one like the previous two games), the decision to close the game outright does appear to have some merit.

Only time will tell whether other gacha games will follow in Final Fantasy Record Keeper‘s steps. Last month, loot boxes were declared as haram by Malaysian Mufti. In spite of that, that there is no legal pressure on gacha games in Malaysia, unlike those in Belgium.

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