Diablo Immortal, despite there only being a few days since its release, has a storied history. When Diablo Immortal was first revealed to the world, many had been hoping for something on Diablo 4 at the time, and a mobile version of the franchise did not click with fans. The reveal and a subsequent Q&A led to two key phrases, “do you guys not have phones?” and “is this a late April Fool’s Day joke?” that will forever immortalize the controversial reveal.
But over time, the tide shifted. Early impressions, subsequent reveals, and so on painted it as a genuine Diablo game on mobile devices. That, in and of itself, was not a bad thing. The quality and so on were all there, and this built a ton of hype for Diablo Immortal’s release. Many of these early impressions basically came down to “the game is good, but what about microtransactions?”
Unfortunately, those early impressions and perhaps their potential concerns were realized upon release. While many are enjoying the game, several are upset about Diablo Immortal’s microtransactions. This ties back directly to its reveal, where many were concerned about how monetization would work.
In a free-to-play mobile game, microtransactions are to be expected. Everyone has some that they’re okay with, even if there are some they would never buy, while some are universally hated. Time savers are often criticized, while most will shoo away cosmetics. Ultimately, it depends on how microtransactions impact the gaming experience, and they truly define it in Diablo Immortal.
Diablo Immortal’s Microtransactions Are Incredibly Expensive
Many fans, streamers, and so on realized how expensive the microtransactions were upon release, but it wasn’t until a new video by Bellular News broke it down that it was clear just how bad these were. The fact that a few countries wouldn’t allow Diablo Immortal to release also speaks to how these microtransactions work.
What it boils down to is Diablo Immortal’s Legendary Gems. Blizzard had previously stated that Diablo Immortal gear would not be tied to money, but these gems are functionally just as important. Legendary Gems represent one style of progression, alongside gear and XP level in Diablo Immortal, and it impacts endgame progression. As everyone knows, in a dungeon-crawling looter like Diablo Immortal, the endgame is super important.
Because of this, Legendary Gems are super important in the game and are locked behind the Legendary crest loot boxes, where they’re not even guaranteed. For players who don’t invest money, the Crests can be obtained by completing dungeons, but that involves tons of time and no guarantee. And to fully max out a character, according to Bellular News' calculations, would come out to $110,000. Which is an absurd investment in any game. Of course, the thing is that microtransactions are always optional. No one should invest that much, but given Diablo Immortal players likely expected it to some extent, choosing to invest some is by no means a bad thing. Yet, that’s where the predatory nature of this game design comes in.
Diablo Immortal’s Microtransactions Are Predatory by Design
If the aforementioned seems complex, that’s because it is. It’s designed in such a way that the game constantly incentivizes players with better progress for real-world money. It’s almost a combination of the worst pay-to-win tactics with time-savers thrown in. After all, Bellular News also breaks it down and suggests it would take players ten years to max out their character. RPGs, looters, dungeon-crawlers, and other genres are often huge time investments. That was to be expected from Diablo 2, Diablo 3, and eventually Diablo 4, so expecting time investments in Diablo Immortal is no stretch. But 10 years is a stretch. It’s even worst when put side by side with the actual cost of the microtransactions.
Not to mention, Diablo Immortal players have the identified level wall in the game—something not so uncommon. Essentially, it takes longer to level up after a certain point, at which the game’s grind becomes more tedious. It’s not that this particular section of the game results in players needing Legendary Gems, but that once players are doing this and/or reaching that end, those microtransactions look all the more enticing.
The pity system, comparable to the one in Genshin Impact, makes the latter game known for its gacha elements look like a great system when put up against Diablo Immortal. This pushes players into spending more, hoping for 5-star items for Diablo Immortal endgame builds, but statistically getting less bang for their buck.
Diablo Immortal Fans Are Not Happy About the Microtransactions
While some Diablo Immortal streamers and fans seem okay with this microtransaction practice, many are reasonably upset. For comparison, the launch of Star Wars: Battlefront 2 was also mired in controversy due to its microtransactions. Of course, EA managed to turn this around and the reputation of the game today is much better, but when it launched, it was estimated to take over 4500 hours of gameplay (or half a year, give or take) or $2000 dollars to unlock all content. The microtransactions in Diablo Immortal top this, especially when tied to such an important feature as endgame progression.
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 was able to turn it around. Here’s hoping that Blizzard sees the reaction and adjusts Diablo Immortal accordingly.
Diablo Immortal is available now on Android and iOS devices, with a Windows beta also underway.