To say that Activision Blizzard has taken some huge hits in the PR department over the years is perhaps one of the largest understatements in the industry, and Diablo Immortal is its latest undertaking in the field. Though it is a free-to-play game, Diablo Immortal contains so many different systems for players to sink their money into that many have been turned off by it entirely.
Perhaps the most frustrating of these systems is the gem system.Technically the gems aren't a problem for players, unless they wish to make their character as powerful as possible. In that case, players who want to acquire a 5-star gem for free in Diablo Immortal must choose either endless grinding or spending potentially ludicrous amounts of money.
This has led many players to cry out in frustration due to the slot-machine nature of the gem system. The odds are comparable to gambling in Las Vegas or purchasing lottery tickets, as the odds are always in favor of the house- in this case, Blizzard. The results are horrendous, as many streamers have shown the system's unfairness using their own money. One streamer named Quin69 sat down and sunk over $4,000 into the Diablo Immortal system in one sitting, and by the end had not acquired a single 5-star legendary gem. Quin69 has since poured over $25,000 cumulatively into the system without receiving a single 5-star gem.
Because of Quin69's case and others, one Diablo Immortal player decided to expose the system for its exorbitant flaws. User dimi777 created a simulator designed to expose the gem system as unfair, allowing players to test their luck for free. The result was a slot machine game that would quickly scale into the thousands or potentially more before the user would ever see a 5-star gem pop up. What's worse is that dimi777 has claimed the system uses the same odds as the Elder Rifts in-game. Frankly, for the game to survive into the future, Diablo Immortal's endgame needs a complete overhaul.
In hindsight, it seems as though Diablo Immortal's Red Shirt Guy was more correct about the game than even he knew when he first stood up and laid into Blizzard at Blizzcon 2018. However, the writing was most likely solidified at the same event when Blizzard Entertainment principal game designer Wyatt Cheng infamously remarked "do you guys not have phones" in response. However, most fans assumed the mobile title would only be a problem due to what was assumed would be a low-quality knock-off of the series. Instead, it is now marked as one of the greediest games released to date.
Perhaps Blizzard has no interest in saving the game; after all, Diablo Immortal has already raked in over 24 million dollars for the company. Though it's hard to argue with such numbers, many fans feel Blizzard has once again tarnished its company name, showing how far it has fallen since it released World of Warcraft.
Diablo Immortal is available now on Mobile and PC.
Source: GitHub, GamerBraves