Despite loud criticism of its in-game microtransactions, Diablo Immortal has reportedly earned developer Blizzard nearly $50 million in the first month since the free-to-play mobile game’s release.
The new sales data comes from MobileGamer.biz using information pulled from Appmagic, which tracks mobile game earnings. MobileGamer.biz notes that the $48.9 million earned by Blizzard is after Apple and Google have taken their 30% cut from sales made on the App Store or Google Play, which means overall spending for Diablo Immortal is even higher than $50 million.
MobileGamer.biz’s report suggests Diablo Immortal spending peaked 10 days after launch on June 11, when Blizzard earned $2.4 million in a single day. In its first week, Blizzard earned nearly $12 million from Diablo Immortal. In fact, there wasn’t a single day in the game’s first month of availability that in-game spending dipped below $1 million. More than 10 million players have downloaded Diablo Immortal so far, with most of those downloads coming within the first week.
It’s important to note that Diablo Immortal is not yet available worldwide. Its release in certain parts of Asia was delayed to July 7, and it has been delayed indefinitely in China, which is likely to be the mobile RPG’s biggest market. While the game is available in most of Europe, it is banned in the Netherlands and Belgium thanks to local laws regulating gambling and loot boxes.
Though the game appears to be doing well for Blizzard financially, Diablo Immortal (which is also available on PC) is by far the worst-received game in the franchise’s history. In addition to a poor critical reception, the game’s PC version earned the distinction of lowest user score rating in Metacritic history.
Many of the complaints longtime Diablo fans have with Diablo Immortal stems from how the game is monetized and the fact that it is pay-to-win, with players who spend more money able to become more powerful than those that don’t. While there are no paywalls to access in-game content, the fact that much of Diablo Immortal’s endgame revolves around PvP means players who don’t spend money may quickly feel as if they are being left behind.
Blizzard recently clarified that while the upcoming Diablo IV will include microtransactions and an in-game shop, players will not be able to buy power with real money.
Source: Gamespot
