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Diablo 4 has made $1 billion and counting for Blizzard, and a huge chunk of that comes from devilish microtransactions
By Brendan Lowry,
1 days ago
What you need to know
Blizzard Entertainment's popular action RPG Diablo 4 was one of the biggest games in 2023, and has continued to be a big success in 2024.
Now, new details from a developer's LinkedIn profile have revealed that the game has made over $1 billion in total revenue since its launch last year, with $150 million of that coming from in-game microtransaction purchases.
Diablo 4's microtransactions have a reputation for being egregiously overpriced, and many players have scathingly criticized them for many months.
However, Diablo 4 has also gotten significant improvements and additions over time, with the upcoming Vessel of Hatred expansion looking to be a huge boost to the game.
Blizzard Entertainment's huge action RPG Diablo 4 was undoubtedly one of 2023's biggest games, and it's remained an incredibly popular title over the course of this year as well. It's always been clear that it's been a financial success, but now, thanks to some newly discovered details on the LinkedIn page of Blizzard senior product manager Harrison Froeschke (thanks, Gamepressure ), we have an idea of exactly how much cash it's pulled in for the developer.
According to what Froeschke wrote (his profile has since been taken down), Diablo 4 has made over $1 billion in all-time revenue since its launch in early June last year. Of that, a sizable $150 million has some from microtransaction purchases on in-game shop items like weapon skins, armor sets, and other premium cosmetics.
"Leading the monetization strategy of the store cosmetics, pricing, bundle offers, personalized discounts, and roadmap planning which have driven over $150M MTX lifetime revenue," read part of the description of Froeschke's work at the studio. He also helped carry out "every step of game sales since game pre-order to the first expansion by configuring and collaborating with other teams resulting in over $1B total lifetime revenue."
Another reason I was surprised by the statistic is that Diablo 4's in-game purchases are notorious for being egregiously overpriced, especially for items being sold in a game that already has a $40-50 barrier-to-entry. We've written about how Diablo 4 has done little to earn these shop prices in the past, but as my colleague Jez Corden wrote in that piece, many players are likely detached from community discourse and don't care much. Perhaps that's what this number is telling us.
Ultimately, even with the negative reputation Diablo 4's in-game purchases have, it's clear that they — along with the game itself — are continuing to rake in a healthy profit, and I don't see that changing any time soon.
Unlock a new entry in the story campaign, a new Nahantu region, and the first-ever new class for Diablo 4 — the Spiritborn. Purchase today to unlock cosmetics you can use up until the launch of October 8 and beyond, from armor to pets to a cat mount!
and they're about to completely fk up the game in season 6 making everyones end game gear they worked on getting will be lvl 30 gear leaving every character unplayable
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