Diablo Immortal has been off to a pretty bad start since its launch for iOS, Android, and PC in Open Beta earlier this month, having released with what some critics have described as a mountain of microtransactions and a clear pay-to-win scheme, controversies that have led the PC version of the mobile-oriented game to a shockingly low User Score of just 0.2 on Metacritic—the worst yet in the popular aggregation website’s history. Seemingly in fear of having that response bleed over to the franchise’s next mainline installment, Blizzard team members that include Adam Fletcher, Global Community Lead for the Diablo franchise, have taken to Twitter to suggest that Diablo IV’s paid content will be quite different from its mobile counterpart and instead be built around “optional” cosmetic items, and, per tradition, DLC expansions. Fletcher won’t have more to share about this subject until a later date, but his comments were prompted by content creator Gothalion, who expressed his excitement of the fourth installment not having “mobile-style monetization” after its showing at yesterday’s Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase. Diablo IV is headed to PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 in 2023.
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— Adam Fletcher 💙 (@PezRadar) June 12, 2022
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!
In other words, somewhat like Diablo 3, which got one $40 expansion in 2014 (Reaper of Souls) that was followed by a $15 premium DLC pack, in 2017, that brought back the Necromancer class from Diablo 2. Diablo 3 did not have paid cosmetics.
[…] Diablo 4 sounds like a far cry from the business model of Diablo Immortal, a game primarily designed for mobile devices but which also launched (in beta) on Windows PC on June 2. That game is free-to-play, though the ability to use real money to purchase character progression — particularly endgame progression — has rankled many fans as a pay-to-win game. Last week, YouTube’s Bellular News estimated that it would take 10 years or cost $110,000 for players to acquire enough “Legendary Gems” to fully maximize their character and its build.
Source: Adam Fletcher (via Polygon, VGC)