Diablo Immortal has been facing a fair amount of criticism since its release on PC and iOS/Android, in large part due to its microtransactions. Interestingly, in a video by Bellular News, an analysis suggests that Diablo Immortal‘s monetisation might be more intense than initially believed.
According to Bellular News, there are several systems put in place to increase a player’s power levels, the most important one being the Legendary Gems. The highest tier of these gems cannot be earned by free-to-play players; it needs players to spend money to acquire them.
The Legendary Gems are dropped from Legendary Crests—essentially Diablo Immortal‘s take on loot boxes—with varying drop rates. Hence, a high degree of luck is involved in acquiring these Legendary Gems, even if players spend money on them.
Because of these costs, fully upgrading a character to take part in Diablo Immortal‘s end-game focused PvP modes would cost around $110,000 for a single character, according to the analysis.
This analysis comes in light of Diablo Immortal‘s senior game designer Scott Burgess addressing pay-to-win concerns that players had leading up to the game’s launch.
It is worth noting that Diablo Immortal isn’t going to be released in Belgium and the Netherlands. According to the game’s communications manager, this was because of the “current operating conditions in these countries.” In light of the game’s release, it is likely that the game isn’t being released in the two countries because of their strict laws against gambling, which also cover loot boxes.
