Diablo Immortal: Blizzard boss defends microtransactions

Diablo Immortal is still under criticism almost a month after the release. The game was released on June 2nd for PC, Android and iOS and is mostly talked about for its microtransactions.

Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra defended the mode of monetization now in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. The game would have been designed so that players could enjoy it without spending any money.

Diablo Immortal as an introduction to the world of Diablo

Ybarra indicated in the interview that he sees the questions and concerns surrounding Diablo Immortal’s microtransactions, but he also pointed out that the game a very positive overall rating has in the App Store. A Blizzard representative stated that the “vast majority” of Immortal players didn’t spend any money on the title.

“When we think about monetization, it’s been at the very highest level, ‘How can we give hundreds of millions of people a free Diablo experience where they can literally do 99.5 percent of everything in the game?'” like Ybarra.

The Blizzard CEO further stated that monetization only comes into play in the endgame. The team’s philosophy would have been to start with great gameplay and ensure that hundreds of millions of people could play through the campaign at no additional cost. From that point of view, he sees Diablo Immortal as a good introduction to the world of DiabloYbarra told the LA Times.

A good month after the release, “Diablo Immortal” should already be available $48.9 million in sales have generated. Alone in the first week after the release the game should already $11.9 million have earned.