As everyone probably already knows, those who pre-ordered Diablo 4’s Ultimate Edition now have access to the game’s early access ahead of its June 6 release. Diablo 4-mania has descended on fans of the series, with the game being a critical hit.
Microtransactions were always going to be a contentious part of Diablo 4, especially in the wake of Diablo 3’s controversial auction house feature and Diablo Immortal, last year’s mobile entry into the series that has one of Metacritic’s worst-ever user scores as a result of its predatory microtransactions.
Predictably, there was a lot of pressure on Blizzard to make its monetisation strategy for Diablo 4 as uncontroversial as possible ahead of release. Diablo 4 only contains cosmetic microtransactions, nothing experience-altering is purchasable.
However, these cosmetics can be on the expensive side. Some cosmetics like the Necromancer’s ‘Wraith Lord’ set costs 2,800 Platinum, which equates to about $28. Naturally, this has sparked some debate in the Diablo community, with a Reddit thread about the subject popping up. “These cosmetic prices are absolutely ridiculous. Most sets are $15-$28. Even some horses are $15,” the post reads.
The comments go back and forth with some calling these prices predatory, while others advocate for simply not buying them. With the amount of “pay-to-win” microtransactions that the Diablo community has been forced to endure in recent years, it should probably come as no surprise that the attitude of most is relief.
“Don’t spend any money on them, let Blizzard learn,” one user said. Another summed up what appears to be the prevailing attitude, saying “As long as, in-game items look good by themselves, store items don’t look too garish and out of place, they don’t sell actual power, really, who cares about the rest?”
Another speculates that the prices may be intentionally high to incentivise people to buy the items on sale, a classic retail technique.
Diablo 4 releases on June 6 for PlayStation 4. PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.