“We’ve been very clear about this”
Blizzard wants you to know that Diablo 4 will not include any pay-to-win elements. In fact, the ARPG’s lead developers were so adamant about making that point that they repeated it six times during a recent livestream.
Blizzard has been saying that Diablo 4 will not allow people to “pay to win” since well before the game’s release earlier this year, and they’re saying it again now, in the middle of the game’s second season.
In the most recent Diablo 4 Campfire Chat video, director of community Adam Fletcher, game director Joe Shely, and associate game director Joseph Piepiora all answered a recent influx of questions about whether the game could go pay-to-win with a resounding “no.” (Shely said it exactly.)
“We do want to confirm that we did talk about and address the questions we’ve been seeing a lot in the community related to pay for the power that have been swirling around; people talking about ‘are you guys planning on adding pay for power in Diablo 4,’ and I know that we talked about it in the beginning, we are not planning on adding pay for power in Diablo 4,” said Fletcher.
For context, Bellular News recently posted a video titled ‘Blizzard’s latest survey is VERY concerning.’ The video’s main point is a reportedly leaked, but unconfirmed, Blizzard survey asking for feedback on potential new features in Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion.
According to the survey, there are four paid tiers priced at $50, $70, $80, and $100, respectively, as well as benefits for players who purchase the higher tiers, such as a larger stash and early access to new Uniques and Legendary powers.
However, during the recent livestream, the developers addressed these and related concerns at several points.
“Again, we have no plans to add pay for power to Diablo 4,” said Shely.
“There’s no plans to sell power in Diablo 4,” added Piepiora
The survey, the Bellular News video, or any related media coverage were not specifically mentioned, but it’s clear that Blizzard wants to avoid any perception of pay-to-win in Diablo 4. In a live service game, whether that line in the sand remains is always an unknown, but it should be reassuring to see that the game’s leaders don’t appear to be budging on the issue.