Some people do have phones
Blizzard Entertainment’s maligned mobile battler Diablo Immortal is now one year old, and despite launching under a hail of negative press and fan derision, the microtransaction-filled dungeon crawler has still successfully raked in over half a billion dollars in its launch year.
The free-to-play mobile title was first announced at BlizzCon 2018, in an infamous segment that led to boos and jeers from those in attendance, with one fan famously asking the developers if the announcement was an “out-of-season April Fool’s joke“. Principal designer Wyatt Cheng’s remark of “Do you guys not have phones?” only served to further sour the mood. Upon release, critics lambasted the title for its heavy monetization mechanics, with the game also receiving a low user rating on Metacritic. An early controversy involving an “Immortal” gem saw one law firm consider filing suit.
Still, as the old axiom proves time and again, The Online World is not The Real World, and the past 12 months have seen Diablo Immortal pull in just over $525 million USD in revenue from around 22 million total downloads, (as noted by the number crunchers at data.ai). Diablo Immortal is the 15th fastest title to hit this milestone, behind other mobile juggernauts such as Genshin Impact and Pokemon GO, and is currently the third most successful mobile MMORPG on the market.
Given the incredible launch success of recent mainline release Diablo IV, Blizzard Entertainment is clearly going to treat the unholy franchise with golden gloves going forward. The lucrative financial model that presently surrounds the franchise also makes Diablo a key item in Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to purchase Activision Blizzard and its subsidiary properties.
Diablo Immortal is available now on iOS and Android platforms.
More Stories by Chris Moyse
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