Is Diablo Immortal a flop?
As a long-time Diablo fanatic and mobile gaming analyst, this is a question I‘ve put extensive thought into. And it‘s more complex than a simple yes or no.
Financially? Absolutely Not
By essentially any financial or commercial metric, Diablo Immortal has been a resounding success for the first 2 months and counting. As a content creator who‘s followed the mobile gaming space for over 5 years, I‘ve been blown away by some of the revenue benchmarks Immortal has hit.
Just look at some of these staggering numbers:
| Total Revenue First 8 Weeks | $100 million+ |
| Current Daily Revenue | ~$1 million per day |
| Downloads in First Week | Over 10 million |
It‘s already both the top-grossing Diablo game ever made in less than 2 months and also ranks #13 among all mobile games globally by revenue. For a brand new, free-to-play mobile title without an existing fanbase, these would be impressive milestones.
But given the built-in following from the Diablo franchise, they are downright mind-blowing numbers. Financially and commercially, there‘s no chance this can be looked at as anything other than a huge success for Blizzard.
Gameplay & Content? Mostly Positive
Now, most of the backlash is centered around the monetization model specifically rather than the underlying gameplay and content. And from a pure gameplay perspective, I’ve been mostly impressed by Immortal and feel it lives up to the Diablo name.
As an avid ARPG fan myself, I think Blizzard nailed the core gameplay loop – slaying demons and collecting loot with satisfying combat feels great. All 6 launch classes seem relatively distinguished and fun. The story engages hardcore fans like myself with connections to familiar characters and locations in Sanctuary.
In many ways, Immortal represents the dream of playing a proper Diablo game conveniently on my phone with nice mobile-optimized quality-of-life conveniences. And most other critics seem to agree the core action-RPG experience itself delivers.
So gameplay and content-wise, Blizzard did well and given their resources, it‘s unrealistic to have expected full PC/console level production values. Overall, I don’t think many fans take big issues with the actual game itself.
Monetization Model? Predatory and Exploitative
Now this is the elephant in the room and the primary source of uproar from fans – the structure around monetization and free-to-play mechanics. And I have to agree with critics that it crosses the line into clearly exploitative territory.
There are a few areas that worry me greatly about the long-term retention of more casual players:
1. Aggressive monetization taints the experience
Simply put, many gameplay systems feel intentionally tuned to aggravate players and push them to spend. Things like slow progression, constant pop-ups, and confusing currencies are more about frustrating users into purchases rather than creating fun.
2. The extreme pay-to-win aspects
I’m no stranger to reasonable monetization in free mobile games. But the degree to which spending translates directly and clearly to power is worrying. Those dropping 5-6 figures on the game quickly dominate everyone else in PvP with little recourse.
3. Diminished enjoyment and unfair matchmaking
Several content creators who’ve spent insane amounts like $100k+ describe diminished enjoyment once vastly overpowered. And report issues findingbalanced matches. Why spend so much if not to compete and enjoy stomping others? It‘s deeply problematic.
| Avg. Cost to Max One Character | ~$110,000 |
| Cost to Retry Challenge Rift | $1.50 per attempt |
When core gameplay requires routinely paying just to retry basic content, that crosses a line for me.
The monetization goes far beyond what‘s fair or reasonable. It diminishes enjoyment for all players including whales and risks gutting the player base once casual fans quit out of frustration.
Putting it Together: Success Now, But Troubling for Future
Evaluating all aspects, here is my conclusion – Diablo Immortal is clearly not a financial or commercial flop so far, but the exploitative monetization puts the sustainability and fanbase at great risk over the next 1-2 years.
It’s succeeding tremendously right now largely due to the hype, Diablo branding, and marketing push from Blizzard. But the emptier servers get over time, the more desperate the tactics to wring money from remaining players may become.
As an avid ARPG gamer, I still personally enjoy Diablo Immortal despite its flaws and have invested over 40 hours already. Would love to see Blizzard course-correct by making it more friendly for casual demon-slayers. But with how wildly profitable it is, I question if they have incentives to change.
How this tricky situation evolves remains to be seen. But given the backlash already, they are certainly not out of the woods yet and would be wise to take feedback seriously if they hope to avoid a flop in the long-run.
