Diablo Immortal Earns Blizzard Over $24 Million in First 2 Weeks
If you loathe the free-to-play business model for mobile games, unfortunately it's here to stay based on how Diablo Immortal has performed in its first two weeks.
As PocketGamer.biz reports(Opens in a new window), data sourced from Appmagic(Opens in a new window) reveals that Diablo Immortal has been downloaded over 8.5 million times since it launched on June 2. During that time, the game has already earned Blizzard Entertainment in excess of $24 million. The only app that has earned Blizzard more money is Hearthstone, which launched back in 2014.
You may be surprised to hear that the bulk of the money being spent (43%) is from players in the US, which is even more impressive when you consider only 26% of downloads occurred there. South Korea comes in second accounting for 23% of revenue and 11% of downloads.
There's very little to choose between the two key platforms (Android and iOS) the game is available for (it's also available on PC). Android players have spent $11.3 million so far, where as iOS players spent a little more at $13 million.
If $24 million in two weeks for a free-to-play mobile game doesn't have your head spinning already, consider the fact the game isn't getting great reviews. On Metacritic the game currently holds a 70 average on iOS(Opens in a new window) and a 63 average on PC(Opens in a new window).
Critic reviews range from 39% right up to 90%, clearly demonstrating that these types of games are loved by some and hated by others, with most sitting squarely in the middle. As far as Blizzard is concerned, though, Diablo Immortal must be viewed as a success and one they will be very tempted to repeat with other game franchises now.
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