Why Don’t People Like Diablo: Immortal? (& Will It Get Better with Updates)

There has been plenty of debate surrounding the release of Diablo: Immortal, a newly launched Diablo installment by Blizzard Entertainment. Considering that there are certainly a ton of fans that adore the game, many people have been wondering why so many players are against it.

Diablo: Immortal was released in the midst of backlash from the community, meaning it didn’t start off as well as it should have. While the game does have some awesome qualities that can be enjoyable for players, most people see it as “pay-to-win” and are overwhelmed by the quantity and execution of its microtransactions.

Now, Diablo: Immortal‘s popularity is quite complex, involving aspects that may or may not relate to the actual game. In order to fully understand the opinions from both sides of the spectrum, we’ll need to unravel issues from the game’s initial announcement. Stick around to find out about Diablo: Immortal and why so many people dislike the game.

Diablo: Immortal Announcement & Release

The Diablo saga started way back in 1996 when the very first Diablo game was released by Blizzard Entertainment. This action role-playing game (RPG) boasts a plethora of loveable and exhilarating game mechanics, many of which can be compared to hack-and-slash games, all blended together with irresistible touches from the roguelike gaming genre.

Blizzard Entertainment has released quite a few Diablo installments over the years, all of which have seen various highs and lows. Diablo took the world by storm after its first installment hit the industry, with Diablo II and Diablo III both outperforming their predecessors – both in success and overall fanbase size.

This saga has been an iconic piece of gaming history for many, many years. Little did the developers know at the time, but the Diablo franchise would later be known as one of the most crucial and influential games of all time, having a drastic influence on the entire gaming industry and its community for years to come.

Wyatt Cheng, the Principal game Designer at Blizzard Entertainment, announced the future release of Diablo: Immortal way back in 2018, and the game was released on June 2nd, 2022 after a series of delays. Fans were pretty excited about Diablo: Immortal – up until they got more information about it.

Why Don’t People Like Diablo: Immortal?

Naturally, gamers around the world had pretty high expectations for Diablo: Immortal when it was originally announced. The game was intended to outshine former releases, topped with a stellar design and grand mechanic scheme that the devs were quite excited about – at first.

The game got a ton of hate within only the first week after its release, with it quickly being dubbed a universally hated game. But, the truth is that it isn’t so much about the game itself – it’s somewhat about the game, but it’s also due to context.

Initially Released On Mobile

Diablo: Immortal marked the culmination of years’ worth of controversies, sandals, and debates for Blizzard. The drama all started upon the game’s initial announcement, as it came with quite a big twist… Diablo: Immortal was only intended to be released for mobile platforms – specifically Android and iOS.

Diablo fans responded with outright backlash, and most gamers were furious at the idea of this legendary title being stripped from its predecessors’ platforms. This may have all been alright, as all game devs see some backlash from their fans at some point.

But, Blizzard didn’t respond very well to their fans’ remarks – in fact, many could say the responses were unprofessional. In one case, Wyatt Chang apparently asked a fellow fan if they did not have a smartphone – sarcastically, of course.

Now, the game being released on mobile really isn’t a major deal, it’s more about the way it was handled. Fortunately, the developers did eventually listen to their fans and decide to release the game on PC as well – although, many fans felt the damage was done by that point.

Overwhelming Amount of Microtransactions

If you’ve ever played a mobile game, you’ll know that microtransactions are just part of the biz – it’s near impossible to find any good mobile game without them. But, many fans just feel like Diablo: Immortal has just been designed to make F2P players feel inferior to P2P players – which, is not fun at all.

“You need $100,000+ to max out 1 character. I am NOT exaggerating – look it up. Someone actually calculated that you need this much to max out one character. And there are seasons, so you will need to spend this again in another season.”

The number of microtransactions being shoved in players’ faces is possibly the number one reason why people dislike the game, putting aside the initial drama. It’s hard to find anything about Diablo: Immortal online right now without seeing the words “pay to win” pop up.

“The game is your typical phone game. but the microtransaction are so extreme. You might enjoy the game until you hit the pay wall in the early 40’s.”

“A game with more gambling mechanics for real money than actual content. This type of service needs to be shut down before every game developing company thinks that this is acceptable.”

“This game is strictly designed to make you pull out your wallet and spend your money…This is evil. Blizzard should be ashamed of themselves and should not carry the name Diablo anymore!”

Now, people are really, really mad about this. But, there is a lot to cover when it comes to microtransactions in games – game devs do need to make money from their creations.

The main issue is how it’s been done with Diablo: Immortal. Not only do P2P players look incredible next to F2P players with insane cosmetics (possibly fair), but they are far more powerful as well – which does actually spark the “pay to win” debate.

Is Diablo: Immortal A Bad Game?

While some harsh remarks about Diablo: Immortal are definitely floating around the internet right now, the truth is that it’s really not that bad. You may have heard that it’s a terrible game, a complete failure – but, in reality, that’s just not the case.

Diablo: Immortal had around 30 million game pre-registrations. Despite the issues pre-launch, it’s safe to say that the community was still eager to see what all the fuss was about and give Diablo: Immortal a fair try.

Based on the number of downloads, around 1 million people play Diablo: Immortal on mobile (excluding PC players), either casually or actively. Diablo: Immortal hit the #1 downloaded spot for Android and iOS, and is apparently #1 on mobile in over 40 regions worldwide.

It’s clear that the drama about the release still left a bitter aftertaste for fans, though – primarily PC gaming fans, to be specific. According to Metacritic, Diablo: Immortal has a tragic user score of 0.4 out of 10, based on thousands of reviews.

Still, Diablo: Immortal is a pretty fun game in many ways. One could easily end up getting hooked on Diablo: Immortal for at least a few hours after giving it a chance. It’s just that, upon close inspection, one starts to see how frustrating and complicated Diablo: Immortal really is.

“Obviously, I’m a bit conflicted. But it’s only fair to review Diablo Immortal the way we have reviewed games like this before and the way we will probably review games like this in the future. By those standards, yes, this is a fantastic action-RPG experience…It’s going to try to sell you things, but it will use a very soft sell approach until you’re in very deep indeed. Perhaps deeper in than many of you will play anyway. Diablo Immortal is here. It is everything we could have hoped for, and everything we have feared.”

At the very core of the Diablo: Immortal lies most of the crucial aspects that define any Diablo game. It’s one of the few mobile games that strive to provide high-quality content to the platform, and it’s still better than many PC or console games to date.

Let’s take a look at some of the major positives and free-to-play elements that Diablo: Immortal has going for it:

• Gameplay loop
• Numerous modes
• Interesting classes
• Several bosses
• Plenty of dungeons
• Various areas
• Impressive presentation
• Stellar graphics
• Full voice acting
• Amazing sound effects, music, ambient noises, and more

Diablo: Immortal is just one of those games that had a heavily stunted launch, surrounded by pre-existing bias and frustrations from fans. It’s definitely not the best game out there, and there are areas that any unbiased player may or may not enjoy.

As pay-to-win as Diablo: Immortal may be, the game may not deserve all the hate it’s been getting recently. If you’ve ever dreamed about having the Diablo experience in the palm of your hand, then this one may just be for you.

After all, anyone who rushes through Diablo: Immortal using money just loses hours of having fun by grinding the game as they should – which, may not actually be a win. There’s no harm in getting a solid opinion by simply trying it out yourself.