Diablo Immortal is series’ best launch despite pay-to-win accusations

In spite of the fury surrounding pay-to-win microtransactions, Diablo Immortal is currently enjoying the most successful launch in franchise history. 

Diablo Immortal has been mired in controversy since its poorly-received reveal at BlizzCon 2018. The exorbitant amount of microtransactions in Diablo Immortal still managed to further tip the scales, though.

In-game purchases in the RPG have proven so egregious that one person’s calcuations show players could spend tens of thousands of dollars trying to max out a single character.

As of now, however, the backlash means little with respect to Diablo Immortal’s early success.

The Diablo Immortal launch breaks records

Within only a week of its release on PC and mobile platforms, Diablo Immortal has already surpassed 10 million downloads.

• Read More: Twitch streamer Quin69 rages after spending $10k on Diablo Immortal and getting “nothing”

Blizzard Entertainment confirmed as much in a post on the game’s official Twitter account. The celebratory tweet in question features a text-laden image revealing the 10 million figure, with a caption referring to Diablo Immortal as the “biggest launch in franchise history.”

By comparison, Diablo 3 moved 6.3 million units during its launch week in May 2012, 3.5 million of which were sold on day one.

Diablo Immortal’s status as a free-to-play experience may make its 10 million installs seem inconsequential, yet in-game purchases will likely carry the weight in terms of earnings.

• Read More: Asmongold claims Diablo Immortal backlash won’t stop devs from pushing microtransactions

Numerous fans, including well-known streamers, have already admitted to spending hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on microtransactions.

This combined with Diablo Immortal’s massive launch indicates the negative discourse will barely make a dent in Blizzard’s bottom line.

How the company and co-developer NetEase plan to address the ongoing pay-to-win concerns in-game presently remains a mystery. After all, the mobile-first approach to development means Diablo Immortal isn’t beholden to the same standards as PC and console games.