Diablo 4 Is Already Distancing Itself From Diablo Immortal

"Diablo Immortal" has been all over the news, and not for the reasons Blizzard Entertainment probably wanted it to. While the gameplay itself has been met with mostly decent marks, the pay-to-win style microtransactions of "Diablo Immortal" have caused an outcry from the franchise's hardcore fanbase, leading to the game passing an unfortunate milestone and receiving some of the lowest scores in Blizzard's history. One calculation concluded that in order to fully upgrade one's character in the game once hitting a "level cap," it would cost players upwards of $110,000 to achieve that feat. Needless to say, this revelation has muddied virtually every discussion as it relates to "Diablo Immortal," a game that was already controversial due to it originally being a mobile-exclusive as opposed to a AAA release on a more traditional platform such as the PC (though this would be later rectified).

Since its release, Blizzard Entertainment seems to have gone into full damage control mode. Initial concerns regarding loot boxes and microtransactions were dismissed as "misinformation" by Blizzard executives, but that has done little to quell the angry mob following the release of "Diablo Immortal." In turn, it seems that the upcoming "Diablo 4" has been completely distanced from the marketing campaign of "Diablo Immortal." The new "Diablo" installment won't feature microtransactions in such an aggressive way, says one official from Blizzard.

While microtransactions and loot boxes are inherently a controversial element to many modern games, it's only when they stand in the way of player progression that things truly get ugly. Had "Diablo Immortal" solely focused its microtransactions on cosmetic items such as skins instead of legendary items that are key in a PvP environment, it's likely the backlash wouldn't have been as immense, but because players have been practically forced into forking out extra cash, the game has been branded as pay-to-win. This is a mistake that "Diablo 4" doesn't seem keen on repeating.

In response to a statement made in regards to the monetary aspect of "Diablo 4," community manager Adam Fletcher quickly squashed any talk of pay-to-win. "['Diablo 4'] is huge & there will be tons of content after launch for all players," Fletcher told fans over Twitter. "Paid content is built around optional cosmetic items & eventually full expansions." Scheduled for a 2023 release, Fletcher iterated that "Diablo 4" is built for both the PC and consoles, and will be available for the industry-standard price. He also announced that more info will be available soon.