Activision Blizzard Class Action Alleges Company’s Hearthstone Card Pack System Deceives Players

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Activision Blizzard Hearthstone Card Packs Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: Nathan Harris filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of minor Y.H. against Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. 
• Why: Harris and Y.H. claim Activision Blizzard breaks the law by allowing minors to use real money to purchase loot boxes known as card packs while playing the game Hearthstone.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

Activision Blizzard unlawfully allows minors to use real money to gamble on winning in-game items through virtual “loot boxes” called “packs” found in its Hearthstone game, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Nathan Harris, on behalf of minor Y.H., claims lootboxes in Blizzard’s Hearthstone game deceive, mislead and harm consumers, particularly minors who are refused refunds for their pack purchases.

“Although Lootboxes are advertised and portrayed by video game providers as a vehicle that allows it users to quickly advance further in a game through purchases using real-world currency, the use of Lootboxes in videogames is overwhelmingly misleading and exploitive of consumers,” the Activision Blizzard class action states.

Harris and Y.H. claim loot boxes like the card packs in Hearthstone are “addictive” and “predatory” since players “rarely actually end up getting anything valuable” when purchasing them.

Further, Harris and Y.H. argue loot boxes are problematic since they frequently appear in games made for or played by children yet are often non-refundable. 

Activision Blizzard Class Action Alleges Hearthstone Encourages Microtransactions

Hearthstone, meanwhile, is designed to encourage “constant and continuous microtransactions within the game” since the most powerful cards are the “rarest and hardest to obtain,” the Activision Blizzard class action alleges.

“Critically, as with traditional Lootboxes, when a player purchases a Pack they are not told shown anything about the cards they will actually receive,” the Activision Blizzard class action states.

Harris and Y.H. argue Activision Blizzard is guilty of unjust enrichment and in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law.

They want to represent a nationwide class and California subclass of minors who used real money to make a purchase of a Hearthstone card pack.

They also demand a jury trial and request declaratory and injunctive relief along with economic, monetary, actual, consequential, compensatory and punitive damages for themselves and all class members.

Last month, Ajudge dismissed a separate class action lawsuit targeting Activision Blizzard over claims the company hid an investigation into the culture of its workplace from investors.

Have you made an in-game purchase of a card pack while playing Hearthstone? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Eugene Y. Turin of McGuire Law, P.C. 

The Activision Blizzard Hearthstone Card Packs Class Action Lawsuit is Harris v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., Case No. 8:22-cv-00998, in the Superior Court of the State of California.

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