Blizzard has confirmed that Diablo 4 won’t be as heavily monetized as Diablo Immortal.
After much criticism over Diablo Immortal’s substantial microtransactions, Blizzard’s Diablo boss Rod Ferguson took to Twitter to assure fans that the upcoming Diablo 4 “is a full-price game” created first and foremost for PC and consoles.
Blizzard has made it clear that Diablo IV will have an entirely different set of monetization mechanics than Diablo Immortal. Blizzard made a statement saying:
“To be clear, D4 is a full-price game built for PC/PS/Xbox audiences. We are committed to delivering an incredible breadth of content after launch, for years to come, anchored around optional cosmetic items and full story-driven expansions.”
Fans had high hopes for Diablo Immortal, but it was met with disappointment when it was released earlier this month. Because of the game’s significant monetization, Metacritic gave the iOS version a poor 0.6/10, while the PC version received a worse 0.2.
Immortal, according to the gaming community, has some of the most aggressive and exploitative monetization techniques ever seen in a Blizzard game. Sadly this was anticipated by fans before the game was even released and we were met with disappointment to be proved right.
According to Fergusson, Diablo IV will be more like Diablo III than Immortal which is a promising prospect as Diablo III didn’t feature any microtransactions at all although they did launch the game with an in-game auction house.
Despite being a full-priced game, a product manager job listing that surfaced over the weekend for Diablo IV stated that it will have an in-game store.
The job listing stated:
“You will play a critical role in managing the Diablo 4 in-game store experience for millions of players around the world. “As this is a key component of Diablo 4’s seasonal content strategy, you will be the tip of the spear planning the content release schedule, configuring products using our internal tooling, and working with stakeholders across disciplines to ensure regular updates to the store throughout each season go smoothly.”
This coincides with the time Former Diablo 4 lead designer and now game director Joe Shely made the statement that players: ”will be able to acquire cosmetics in the game.”
Diablo Community Lead Adam Fletcher weighed in too by stating:” “D4 is coming out as a full-price game built strictly for PC/console audiences. The game is huge & there will be tons of content after launch for all players. Paid content is built around optional cosmetic items & eventually full expansions. We will be sharing more info soon!”
The presence of in-game purchases isn’t a surprise but hopefully, Blizzard will stick to their promise that the monetization system won’t be like that of Diablo Immortal.
According to Blizzard, Diablo IV will be released “sometime in 2023,” and will add the necromancer, the game’s fifth and final class.
The game will be available on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 and a Closed Beta is on its way according to Blizzard.