Diablo 4 reveals its monetization plans

Blizzard today revealed how monetization practices will work in Diablo 4 when the game launches next year.

In recent months, the Diablo franchise as a whole has been heavily criticized for the monetization system of Diablo Immortal, but fortunately, it seems that we will not have such a “predatory” system in the fourth game of the main franchise.

Through the latest update on the quarterly blog dedicated to Diablo 4, Blizzard was able to better detail how real money transactions will work in the game. In short, Blizzard emphasized that the Diablo 4 Store is something it wants players to use “because they want to, not because they feel they have to.”

As a result, the Store will only sell cosmetic items that have no real impact on gameplay or character stats seen in Diablo 4.

Blizzard has also made it clear that they want players to be aware of what they’re actually buying from the Diablo 4 store. This means things like loot boxes won’t be present in the game.

Finally, Blizzard said it’s also trying to ensure that the Diablo 4 Store doesn’t feature the “prettiest cosmetics” in the game. While a player’s tastes will obviously vary, Blizzard has made it clear that there will be hundreds and hundreds of unlockable items in the game that will never be locked by real money transactions.

There are amazing pieces – items of unique and legendary qualities – for players to find without having to go to the store. The Store offers more variety of choices, not systematically better choices.

The news is certainly encouraging, but as always, fans are still waiting for the game’s release date to be revealed. Can we expect this to be finally announced at Microsoft’s presentation at GamesCom 2022?