Diablo Immortal has a history filled with controversies, dating back to its initial reveal. At the time, many fans had been hoping to see Diablo 4, which soured and didn’t help the bungled reveal of the mobile title, Diablo Immortal. From the “Do you guys not have phones” to the Diablo fan who asked if the reveal was an out-of-season April Fools’ Day joke, the entire thing was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Perhaps surprisingly though, the gameplay of Diablo Immortal won over fans as more and more was revealed. Previews of the game painted it as a fun mobile title, although many were concerned about the potential microtransactions of the game. Unfortunately, its launch proved these concerns were legitimate. One Diablo Twitch streamer recently spent about $15,000 USD to get their first 5-star legendary gem, then deleted their character in protest.
As many streamers and members of the gaming community dive into and react to the game, many may be wondering where the Red Shirt Guy, the out-of-season April Fools' Day joke questioner, is now. He goes by Dontinquire on Twitter, and as first reported by Forbes, he has played and reviewed Diablo Immortal. His first post about the game was on June 1, where he revealed he didn’t hate the game and had reached level 20.
His post did outline some concern, as with many previewers, about the gacha elements of Diablo Immortal’s endgame, but then he went quiet for about weeks. Then, on June 14, he posted a short and succinct review of the game. He states that it met his expectations, which is usually a good thing but not here, and he confirmed that he was uninstalled Diablo Immortal.
It would seem that the launch of Diablo Immortal has been as controversial as its reveal, and it seems likely to remain that way for a while. Despite Blizzard praising it as the biggest launch in franchise history, Diablo Immortal has the lowest Metacritic User score in history. It’s very clear fans aren’t happy with the predatory microtransaction practices, but if Blizzard intends to change them in any way, that has not been hinted at yet.
For now, fans will just have to wait and see what comes out of Diablo Immortal next. It’s possible Blizzard turns it around, just as EA did with Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (which had one of the biggest microtransaction controversies ever at the time and is still not as bad as Diablo Immortal), or it’s possible these microtransactions are here to stay.
Diablo Immortal is available on mobile devices.
Source: Forbes