Diablo Immortal has come under fire in recent days due to its ongoing microtransaction controversy. While the game launched with stable servers (for a change) and an influx of players, soon after launch it was revealed that Diablo Immortal is a relentless pay-to-win experience. So much so that Diablo Immortal could cost you up to a million rand if you want to fully max your character or you can spend up to ten years grinding through the game’s poor loot drops for stronger gear.

This revelation is a stark difference compared to the so-called “promised” game Blizzard spoke about just a few months ago. In fact, Blizzard game director Wyatt Cheng told the media that there “is no way to acquire or rank up gear using money in Diablo Immortal.” 

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Of course, Cheng’s state is somewhat true. You can’t purchase gear in Diablo Immortal for real money. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t purchase items used to power up the gear you already have. Essentially, it is the same thing. Diablo Immortal lets players use real money to acquire Legendary Gems which are vital to levelling up your character and gear in the game. You can’t max your character without them.

Yesterday, we reported that in order to max your character out in Diablo Immortal, players would have to scrounge up at least $110,000 worth of in-game purchases to max every possible stat in the game. To make matters worse, Legendary Gems also have a low drop rate even when spending real money on chests that contain them.

Fans have since called out Wyatt Cheng on Twitter for essentially making false statements in regards to Diablo Immortal’s pay-to-win model. Fans asked Cheng why it has taken him so long to address the game’s in-game purchases and heavy pay-to-win mechanics. A fan wrote; “King doesn’t justify charging $100 for a pack of lives in Candy Crush, why does Blizzard feel it needs to be apologetic for a game that cost $50m+ and 6 years to make?”

Cheng responded by saying that the information surrounding Diablo Immortal’s microtransactions is false. In addition, he claims that the game’s reputation is now built on misinformation rather than not liking it due to the game’s merits.

“I don’t like it if information is misleading. There’s a difference between players liking or not liking a game based on it’s merits (which I can accept, not every game is for everybody) vs. liking or not liking a game based on misinformation surrounding it.”

Diablo Immortal is currently sitting on a whopping 0.7 fan score on Metacritic making it the third-lowest Blizzard game in history.

<3 thanks for asking.

I don’t like it if information is misleading. There’s a difference between players liking or not liking a game based on it’s merits (which I can accept, not every game is for everybody) vs. liking or not liking a game based on misinformation surrounding it.

— Wyatt Cheng (@candlesan) June 4, 2022