Diablo IV releases on June 6, 2023, and so far everything indicates that the game will be a worthy continuation of the series. But the closer the release gets, the more worries regarding how Blizzard will implement a system of additional monetization in addition to selling the game. Which is quite true once morest the background of very aggressive practices in Diablo Immortal, where without investing tens of thousands of dollars you can forget regarding the full leveling of the character. Yes, and Diablo III had its drawbacks related to monetization, including the auction with real money.
In an interview with Eurogamer director Joe Shelley spoke regarding Blizzard’s plans to monetize Diablo IV. In short, the studio will not use the practices of F2P schemes. Instead, the company will use the most advanced tools to squeeze the maximum amount of money. This means that there will be a real money store, paid battle passes (or season passes), as well as paid expansions.
The launch of Diablo 4 is just the beginning. The development team will move from the release of the game, to the development of the service and extensions for the game. We will release regular expansions with stories, quests and classes. Our service will feature Seasons every three months, including new Seasonal features at a level much higher than Diablo 3. And yes, we will have Season Passes as companions to each Season.
All seasonal features and seasonal experience will be available completely free of charge and all players will have access to it. The Season Pass will give you access to additional cosmetics and other cool stuff. But it is absolutely not required. You don’t need to buy it to participate.
The developers note that in Diablo 4 it will be impossible to buy the power of a character for money.
What will actually happen will become clear next summer.
