Blizzard has posted the first update for its mobile ARPG Diablo Immortal. The post addresses a few of the community’s concerns, though mysteriously avoids the most glaring issue most players have: Its gross monetization. The game’s first major update has launched along with Season 2 which brings two new “levels” of the battle pass. In addition, players will find a plethora of new content to explore and will see quality of life improvements added and bugs squashed along the way. In addition, the development team is dedicated to chasing down bot activity and encourages players to utilize the in-game reporting tool to give them a heads up.
However, the most glaring omission in the post is anyone addressing the monetization that has caused quite a stir in the gaming world. Blizzard’s aggressive and sometimes outrageous real money transactions have been under fire from the start of the open beta in June. Blizzard president Mike Ybarra was recently interviewed by the Los Angeles Times and only had this to say:
The monetization comes in at the end game. The philosophy was always to lead with great gameplay and make sure that hundreds of millions of people can go through the whole campaign without any costs. From that standpoint, I feel really good about it as an introduction to ‘Diablo’.
The Season 2 battle pass will now come in three “flavors” –
- free
- Empowered Battle Pass: Includes all rank rewards from the free standard Battle Pass but also unlocks an Empowered track that provides additional rewards at each rank. Plus, you’ll receive the fearsome Bloodsworn Weapon cosmetic, unlocked at rank one, and the thorn-covered Bloodsworn Armor cosmetic, unlocked at rank 40.
- Collector’s Empowered Battle Pass: Gives you access to all rank rewards and cosmetics from the Empowered Battle Pass. Plus, the Bloodsworn Avatar Frame, Bloodsworn Portal cosmetic, and a ten-rank boost, all provided immediately after upgrading.
The latter two versions will cost money, though how much remains to be seen.
Check out the Diablo Immortal official site for more details.
