Blizzard wants to know if it's okay to charge $100 for Diablo 4 DLC

[midian182]

WTF?! Blizzard, a company infamous for packing as many microtransactions as possible into its games, could charge up to $100 for Diablo 4 expansion Vessel of Hatred. The company has been sending out surveys to gauge players' response to potential price points and what each one entails for next year's DLC.

The Blizzard survey was shared by a fan and reported by YouTube channel Bellular News. It asks questions about pricing for future Diablo 4 DLC and expansions, and while Vessel of Hatred is not mentioned specifically, Blizzard never revealed how much the first expansion will cost when it was announced last month.

The four price tags in the survey are $50, $70, $80, and $100. For comparison, Cyberpunk 2077's excellent Phantom Liberty cost an eyebrow-raising $30.

Blizzard writes that each price point comes with added extras in addition to the expansion. Two of the tiers give players access to an NPC character who offers access to your stash and gold pickups one season before the feature launches for everyone.

Some tiers also include early access to a functional item which is described as a unique piece of gear or a Legendary aspect before it's released. Again, that gear could arrive a season early for buyers.

Other bonuses at different price points include cosmetics such as hero and town portal skins, extra stash space, a set amount of in-game Platinum each season along with an instant amount, and wings that can be equipped on a character.

As was the case with Diablo 4, another bonus is giving buyers early access to the expansion. The list also mentions a unique mount other than a horse that evolves with achievements, as well as unique mount armor. It's worth noting that the $50 and $70 include the Diablo IV base game.

Surveys like these are mostly to test the waters when it comes to pricing and features, so a lot could change before Vessel of Hatred arrives, especially as there's already been a lot of anger over some of the prices and the functional content that's available if you're willing to pay for it.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/100997-blizzard-wants-know-if-okay-charge-100-diablo.html

 

[yRaz]

No, it's not okay. Amd taking the challenge away from the game will not make it okay. Look at the hard-core/iron man player base in runescape? The grindiness of the game makes it competitive and is a large part of why the player base stays loyal. There are different game modes for all players and you can freely switch between them(to some extent). But paying to be able to bank easier than other players? And charging $100 for the privilege?

Blizzard needs to just f*** off already. Their games are trash and their business model is worse.

 

[gamerk2]

Reminder: This isn't Blizzard anymore. It's all Activision now.

I've been through more then a few corporate acquisitions in my life, I can guarantee all the old Blizzard managers are well out of power by now.

 

[Sherwoodnt]

Does Bliz really need a survey to tell them that gamers will pay whatever they ask?

Blizzard: “Do you want to pay more for DLC’s?”

Gamers: “Absolutely not! Never! I hate you!”

Blizzard: “Got it (taking notes) Well we’re going to charge you more anyways”

Gamers: “Does it come with a different colored sword?”

Blizzard: “uuuh… yes..?”

Gamers: “I’ll take 2, please”

 

[winjer]

I would like that, as much as getting stabbed in the face.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

I've got Diablo and Diablo 2 running on my computer from the physical discs. I'd much rather play them than the crap they call Diablo 3 and 4 now.

 

[m4a4]

Are they releasing an entirely new game and a half? That's the only justification I can see to such a ridiculous DLC price point...

 

[TomSEA]

DLC shouldn't be any more than 20% the cost of the original game. Typical DLC is usually an additional 4-5 hours of gameplay, so no. $100 is an asinine asking price.

 

[Alfonso Maruccia]

Still playing Diablo II LOD here, and Diablo III at least for a bit more.


After that, dunno if I'll go the Diablo IV route. I don't want another crappy MMOG with forced online connection in my life. And the closed beta was absolutely horrendous for me.


Congratulations, Blizzard. I guess.

 

[axiomatic13]

Hahaha! Yeah, I won't pay that much for DLC.

 

[dangh]

Reminder: This isn't Blizzard anymore. It's all Activision now.

You mean Microsoft, it's even worse though.

And yes, they can charge even 1000 per dlc, it is gree msrket, but only headless monkeys would buy it.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Honestly, game makers can charge whatever the hell the want up front so long as the game ends up less than $10, fully patched, with all DLCs included 12 months later.

I've given up on buying brand new games at full price, and I understand devs want to make their money, and I ALSO understand that gamers are by and large dopamine junkies that skew young with little self control over their purchasing habits, so my yelling at the clouds isn't going to stop them from buying this stuff.

So at this point I've resigned myself to patient gaming, and so long as I can still get muh GOTY editions for $10 at some point I'll be fine with it.

 

[nitebird]

As a Star Citizen player, I want to say that even 300$ would be fine. 500$ horse armor please, thank you.

 

[kira setsu]

I won't attack blizzard, they know gamers are gullible *****s who are extremely loose with their money.

Why not fleece em for every penny if it's possible?

They(and every other dev/publisher/mouse that can inexplicably read)watches all these "free to play" games make millions from the same gamers who scream a game that cost 60 or 70 is highway robbery, yet spend so much more on a genshin or whatever else comes out.

if blizz was smart they'd knock the base game down to like 19.99, make it as fun as possible then wait for gamers to fall into the trap of dlc content. thats how f2p does it.

 

[m4a4]

You mean Microsoft

Lol, Microsoft JUST bought them. Stuff in the works like this won't have been influenced by them so quickly. You give MS too much credit.

This is clearly Activision's influence still.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I won't attack blizzard, they know gamers are gullible *****s who are extremely loose with their money.

Why not fleece em for every penny if it's possible?

They(and every other dev/publisher/mouse that can inexplicably read)watches all these "free to play" games make millions from the same gamers who scream a game that cost 60 or 70 is highway robbery, yet spend so much more on a genshin or whatever else comes out.

if blizz was smart they'd knock the base game down to like 19.99, make it as fun as possible then wait for gamers to fall into the trap of dlc content. thats how f2p does it.

This. L33T GAMURZ will always CONSOOOM product, regardless of its quality. May as well fleece 'em for every last penny.

Guarantee they'll sell 1 million+ copies of this.

Reminder: This isn't Blizzard anymore. It's all Activision now.

I've been through more then a few corporate acquisitions in my life, I can guarantee all the old Blizzard managers are well out of power by now.

This is cope. Activision bought Vivendi Games, which owned Blizzard, back in 2008. Those "good old boys" of Blizzard that "loved the consumer" were present for MANY of the poor decisions made over the years. The people now shocked over blizzard's poor decisions have been turning blind eyes to Activision's actions for 15 years. Everyone who bought Diablo IV, and were shocked when it got milked, simply ousted themselves as easy marks for corporate sanctioned robbery.

And frankly, they deserve it. You can only warn someone not to walk off a cliff so many times before you just get the popcorn and watch the show.

 

[SinEaterrr]

Wow just wow. And you can't do anything about that. Anyway I made like 750 Euro on D3. I sold helmet for 249E. Week later it was sold for 10E. Hahahaha so no Ty fook you Activision/Blizzard

 

[SinEaterrr]

Btw I play mostly on phone nowadays. PC Is dead for me. I still have my old system q9550E0 OC to 4.3. And 4 years ago I did buy whole new system AMD 2600 ASUS ROG Strix
F Gaming gskils F4 3200 good for OC. I still didn't unpack it. And my old AMD Sapphire Nitro transformed to 580. And some SSD. I really don't care anymore. Waiting for PS5 PRO. And GFYS pc world .

 

[Nobina]

Ask Blizzard back if it's okay to charge $0 for the DLC. Gotta negotiate.

 

[yukka]

No one here has admitted buying D4 (maybe no one here did). I bought it for the Xbox and for the pc because of the cross platform play and I had a steam deck as well at the time. I played the early access/eternal realm then the first season. Lvl 65ish. I expected the kind of longevity of Diablo 3 at least, after that launch went badly with the real money auction house but it’s still supported many years later.

I haven’t logged in during the season that started in October. For blizzard to be suggesting DLCs when the base game just isn’t fun is ridiculous to me. No way I’ll be buying any expansions. $100? $50? They will fix the base game then have their hands out for more. None of my friends can be bothered to play it and the couch coop isn’t as fun with friends as running through D3 is.

 

[Watzupken]

They can certainly charge what they want. However people just won’t buy it. To begin with, the franchise has already gone down the drain. If the base game is bad, and wholly dependent on their server uptime, the DLC will be any better to command a high price? I used to rush out to buy D1 to D3. After D3, I had enough of the issues and grindy Seasons. Replay value is only limited to upgraded or new gears, which quickly wear out. The change in gear stats is also highly disruptive.

 

[misor]

No. I didn't even buy the discounted main game.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

They can certainly charge what they want. However people just won’t buy it.

They will though. Millions will.

 

[Shaitan]

Bwahahahaha.
Never have, and never will buy anything WOW or Diablo-related from Blizzard ever again. Refunded the Diablo II remake as it removed the LAN and gave us the horrible grandma-aged Amazon figure.
Yes, I'd like to see sexy females in the games I play. If Western developers are out of touch with the male demographic, the Japanese are not.
I couldn't possibly care less even if they charge 1000 Euro per minute.
The only thing I play from Blizzard nowadays is Starcraft II. Other than that universe, I see absolutely no reason to give my money to a company which has the audacity to ask for microtransactions using any in-game currency atop of a paid game

 

[guillejp]

Why not 200?