TheQuartering [6/6/2022]
Having launched ahead of schedule just a few days back, Activision Blizzard’s Diablo Immortalhas been making headlines for a wide variety of reasons, not least of which is its microtransaction model. Namely, Diablo Immortal is a free-to-play game and, as such, features a number of ways that players can support its continued development.
While this approach to sustainability is rather commonplace nowadays, Diablo Immortal may have taken things a step further than most players may have expected. According to YouTube channel Bellular News’ calculations, the game’s unique monetization system is set up in a way that makes character min-maxing an exceedingly expensive endeavor.
The crux of the issue, as per Bellular News’ recent video, is that Diablo Immortal allows players to buy the so-called Legendary Gems. These are one of the characters’ three progression pillars alongside regular gear and XP level, and they dictate one’s endgame-tier progression beyond what is possible simply by reaching Diablo Immortal‘s level cap. As of right now, F2P players cannot earn top-rated Legendary Games, which are only available via some of the game’s monetization options, and fully maxing-out a character effectively costs $110,000 in the game’s current economy.
Matt and Michael of Bellular News also make an argument that Diablo Immortal‘s Legendary Gems are a deliberately convoluted system, explaining that it would take roughly 10 years of playtime for a F2P player to fully kit out a character in the game’s current iteration. Specifically, Legendary Gems aren’t even a guaranteed drop for paying players, as they are only randomly awarded upon purchasing Legendary Crests (i.e. loot boxes) – which may be the reason why Diablo Immortal didn’t launch worldwide.