Diablo: Immortal launched earlier this month on June 2, 2022. Since then, it's surpassed 10 million downloads, though players are very unimpressed with the in-game reward for this milestone.
Diablo: Immortal is a mobile and PC game developed and released by Blizzard Entertainment and Hong Kong NetEase Interactive Entertainment Limited. While the most influential installment in the franchise recently received the remaster treatment, with Diablo II: Resurrected launching on September 23, 2021, all eyes are now on the newly released Diablo Immortal.
With the game being hailed as the largest launch in the history of the Diablo franchise, Blizzard wanted to give players a reward for helping them achieve this impressive milestone. However, the reward granted by Blizzard was enough hilts to purchase a single Crest, and was deemed by many to be a slap in the face to the community. This launched Reddit threads and Diablo: Immortal communities into a frenzy, with many comparing the reward to something expected out of Gacha games like Genshin Impact or Raid: Shadow Legends.
Diablo: Immortal has seen massive criticism from players for its pay-to-win mechanics since launch day, and this reward is an example of the problem fans have. Receiving enough hilts to purchase one crest is equivalent to saving players between 1-2 hours of play time. This is nothing in the overall amount of time required to reach level cap and to properly gear up. Mobile gaming, as well as pay-to-win game structures, are seldom well received by Western Markets, so many fans of the Diablo franchise are left wondering how this is going to impact the highly anticipated Diablo 4.
Diablo: Immortal is under heavy scrutiny from players, with many review bombing the game, and there has been no official response from Blizzard as of now regarding the response to this reward. Diablo: Immortal is currently the lowest ever rated game on Metacritic based on user score. Controversy like this will only cause players more aggravation and can drive players away from the game entirely. There is serious risk that the controversy surrounding Diablo: Immortal could negatively impact Diablo 4 as well, which is set to release in 2023.
However, there are definitely players who do not feel this way. Diablo:Immortal can be totally free-to-play and players eventually will reach the "end-game" regardless, though it is a massive time-sink. Players have the choice to speed up progression through legendary gems and unique gear, but whether players choose to pay for Diablo: Immortal progression is entirely up to them.
Diablo: Immortal is available to play for free on Android, iOS, and PC.
Source: Reddit