Diablo Immortal has become a huge controversy since it launched in early June, with Blizzard coming under fire for aggressive monetization on the game. Yet such speech seems to matter little in the grand scheme of things.
Something that we find quite curious is that, after all, the role-playing video game grossed a staggering 24 million in revenue after only two weeks on the market. And a recent report claims that Blizzard earns $1 million per day from the latest Diablo experience alone.
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So it should come as no surprise that the publisher stands by its decision to heavily monetize Diablo Immortal. Blizzard Entertainment CEO Mike Ybarra addressed the monetization controversy plaguing Diablo Immortal. Although many players feel that microtransactions err on the side of pay-to-win mechanics, Ybarra and Blizzard seem to downplay their importance to the average user.
The exec said high-level internal discussions regarding monetization followed this line of thought: “How do we provide a free Diablo experience to hundreds of millions of people, where they can literally do 99.5% of everything in the game?”
He went on to say that “monetization comes at the end of the game”, a decision informed by the team’s desire to ensure that millions of players can experience Diablo Immortal without spending a dime. “From that point of view, it feels great as an introduction to Diablo,” Ybarra concluded.
A Blizzard representative told the LA Times in a follow-up email that most Diablo Immortal users have yet to spend any money on the game. The spokesperson did not appear to reveal specific numbers when pressed further.