In its first month of release Blizzard’s controversial new mobile game, Diablo Immortal, has racked up nearly $50 million in reported revenue across 10 million downloads. Even as debates and criticism swirled around the free-to-play RPG, data shows that the game has made at least $1 million a day since launch.
As first reported by Mobilegamer.biz, data from AppMagic seems to indicate that Blizzard’s Diablo spin-off is raking in the cash. According to the data, in the game’s first week it was downloaded 6.85 million times. By July 3, that number increased to 10.35 million downloads. And while not all of these players likely stuck around or spent money, enough players did that on June 11 Immortal racked up $2.4 million in revenue, its best day so far. 30 days after release, Immortal has earned $48,988,970, according to AppMagic’s data.
Keep in mind that all of these numbers don’t include the PC version of the game. Also, AppMagic’s data is based on what developers earn after Apple and Google take their cuts. So with that in mind, it’s very likely that Diablo Immortal’s total revenue is far higher than the reported $48.9 million this data shows. For many of you reading this, that’s probably not the news you wanted to hear.
Diablo Immortal’s had to walk a rough road pretty much since it was announced. Things only got worse after it came out. Many voiced concerns about the game’s in-app purchases and the amount of money it would reportedly take a player to max out their character and gear. At least one streamer spent far too much money proving just how rare and hard it is to get the best gems in the game. For its part, Blizzard has remained mostly silent, likely counting its money and developing Diablo IV.
Me? While I acknowledge some of the absurd drop rates in Immortal, it has remained a perfect time killer for me. And now that my fiancée has picked up the game on her new phone we chill in bed when we first wake up on weekends and kill demons together for an hour or two like any good couple should. I’ve not gotten a five-star gem yet, but I also don’t really care.
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Still, my ability to enjoy the game separate from its in-game store doesn’t change the fact that absurd drop rates and complicated in-app economies are not what many players are looking for. (Hell, to be clear: It’s not what I want either!) And some countries are fighting back, leading to some games—including Diablo Immortal itself—delaying or even canceling their releases to avoid anti-loot box legislation and restrictions.
All of this has raised questions about what to expect from next year’s Diablo IV. Blizzard says it will only include “cosmetic” microtransactions, but even that might be too much following the controversial Immortal.
