Blizzard promises Diablo 4 won't be monetized like Diablo Immortal

pcgamer.com:

Prompted by the backlash(opens in new tab) against the microtransaction-fuelled mobile game Diablo Immortal, Blizzard's Diablo boss Rod Fergusson took to Twitter to reassure fans that the upcoming Diablo 4 «is a full price game» that's designed first and foremost for PC and consoles.

Diablo Immortal, which came out earlier this month, has not gone over especially well with fans. The issue isn't the game itself (although frankly I don't think it's very good) but the way it leverages microtransactions. It's not quite pay-to-win, but it's uncomfortably close(opens in new tab), and that's sparked a backlash on sites like Metacritic: The user score for the iOS version is an abysmal 0.6/10, while the PC version(opens in new tab) (which wasn't listed last week, but is now) is even lower, at 0.2.

Part of the problem is that Diablo Immortal was initially conceived as a mobile game, which are often more aggressive in their microtransactional tactics than games on other platforms. Diablo 4, on the other hand, is a premium, mainline game. But a product manager job listing(opens in new tab) that came to light over the weekend confirmed that it will have an in-game store, despite being a full-priced game.

«You will play a critical role in managing the Diablo 4 in-game store experience for millions of players around the world,» the listing says. «As this is a key component of Diablo 4's seasonal content strategy, you will be the tip of the spear planning the content release schedule, configuring products using our internal tooling, and working with stakeholders across disciplines to ensure regular updates to the store throughout each season go smoothly.»

This actually isn't news: Former Diablo 4 lead designer and now game director Joe