You may forget at this point, that among all the other 90+ rated games back in 2023, Diablo 4 was among them. It did at least initially debut with that score, though it dropped down to an 86 on PC over time. On Xbox it retains a 91.
Part of the reason it performed so well was its excellent campaign, easily the best in series history, and some fun character kits that launched without a Diablo 3 Error 37-like disaster.
However, it’s not just enough to launch well these days, as a game like Diablo 4 was always going to lean heavily into being a live service. Now, we are in the third season of that process and I wanted to try to deduce whether or not this is actually working. I’m not so sure it is. If not from a content perspective, then I really do wonder how revenue might be here given the model.
Diablo 4, for its part, has not gated any of its content behind a paywall, nor is it selling power. You can buy a battle pass with cosmetics for $10, which is not bad, but you have access to seasonal characters and the season itself for free. On top of that. Diablo 4 runs an enormous cash shop full of cosmetics with armor sets ranging from $20-35 for a full kit, and it feels like more are added daily, compared to almost zero new “earned” looks in the game itself.
I don’t think this is…a very good model for this type of game. Even back in Diablo 3 I wondered how the game was going to try to jump on the monetization trend in the future as how do you do that as an ARPG looter? The Auction House almost tanked the entire game, so then you shift to cosmetics. But here, you’re selling enormously expensive armor sets in a game where you are zoomed out 500% at almost all times, and you’re really only seeing yourself in the menu and loading screens. Not the first game to have this problem, but an issue all the same. So I genuinely wonder what level of revenue this monetization format is taking in, which is more important than ever with Blizzard’s flagging game slate. Hell, Diablo 4 is probably its highest profile game right now with no real indication of what’s coming elsewhere amidst layoffs and cancelled projects.
As for the content of the season, I’d say we’re at about 1 for 3 right now. The initial season was barebones since it was developed alongside the main game itself. Season 2 was actually quite good with its interesting vampire powers and chaotic public events. Season 3 has been downright bizarre, with Blizzard essentially erasing its bad “trap” mechanic within the first week, allowing players to ignore it outright, and instead focus on upgrading their little spider buddy who is easy to forget about when in combat most of the time. It’s not a good season.
There are additions to the game that go beyond seasons. Diablo did do something solid when they opened up Uber Unique farming to an endgame boss like Duriel, though players have long grown exhausted from having to farm or buy materials to even summon him in the first place, as it does not seem worth the effort. Additional things like ladders have been delayed, and it’s unclear how those will shape engagement.
My pattern in play here has been to log on, get through the seasonal “storyline” which takes maybe an hour or two, then grind out a character to somewhere between 80-100. Then I stop and move on with this process taking maybe 1-2 weeks of casual play. Others may stay in longer for Uber grinding or multiple characters, I’m just not compelled to.
Given that Diablo 3’s seasons ran for ages, it stands to reason that Diablo 4’s will as well. I just don’t know if this is printing money the way Blizzard needs it to given its odd model, and I don’t know how hooked non-hardcore players have been with really just one good season out of three so far. I believe things may change once we finally get a true expansion for the game later this year, but in terms of being a live game? It’s been really hit or miss, and mostly something that feels safe to ignore among more interesting games in the landscape.
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