Diablo 4 and Microtransactions; Players Don't Want a Repeat of Diablo Immortal
„Pay-to-win” in Diablo Immortal and Blizzard's recent job announcement reminded the fans that there will be microtransactions in Diablo IV as well.
Diablo Immortal quickly discouraged fans of infernal hack'n'slash games. All thanks to microtransactions, which, according to many players, bring the title closer to the worst examples of pay-to-win in mobile games.
Not that microtransactions occur only in games for smartphones and tablets. Diablo fans will find out for themselves, because also Diablo IV will be a live-service game. On Blizzard's official website there is a job offer for a product manager of the fourth Diablo, who will be responsible for the in-game store.
"You will play a critical role in managing the Diablo IV in-game store experience for millions of players around the world. As this is a key component of Diablo IV’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. Additionally, you will strive to continually improve processes and encourage best practices."
Diablo IV microtransactions are purely cosmet
It should be noted that this is not completely new information. The appearance of the store in Diablo IV was mentioned already back in 2019. Then it was emphasized that microtransactions will be limited only to cosmetic items, and not - as in Immortal - things that enable us to accelerate arduous character progression..
A few internet users remind us about it, while pointing out that mobile Diablo is, truth be told, not a work of Blizzard. Chinese studio NetEase is responsible for its creation. In other words, there is a chance that D4will not be as "greedy" as its mobile relative.
Diablo Immortal makes money, could Blizzard want more?
However, now, in the context of Diablo Immortal's problems, negative sentiments are definitely dominating (vide Reddit). In fact, some players believe that even limiting the store to purely cosmetic extras would have a negative effect on the whole project, distracting developers and leading to a decrease in the quality of free items.
Others also doubt whether NetEase not being involved in Diablo IV will translate into a better business model than in Immortal. Despite the criticism, the mobile game turned out to be a hit in at least one respect. Already after the first day the game generated nearly 800 thousand dollars in revenue, and to date, it has earned over 10 million dollars. (via AppMagic). Thus, according to some, Blizzard has reason not to limit, but even intensify monetization in the next installment.
For now, the developers have not mentioned the store in Diablo IV again. So we can conclude that the above speculations are unfounded and the next game will be playable without additional fees and without tedious grind.
