I’m still worried about Diablo IV’s cosmetic-only microtransactions

A couple of weeks ago, Blizzard published a long-awaited update about its upcoming action role-playing game Diablo IV. The post shared some new information about how seasons will work and explained how the company plans to shake up the metagame by continuously releasing new content. But after the contentious release of Diablo Immortal, a game packed to the gills with power-bestowing microtransactions, there was only one question on fans’ minds: How, exactly, would Diablo IV be monetized? These days, that’s not a strange question to ask about a full-priced title like Diablo IV. There's good news, but I'm still worried about some of the game's proposed systems.

It’s alive

The game is going all-in on the “live service” model, with Director of Product Keegan Clark writing in the update that “Diablo IV will be supported by an army of developers for years to come.” That’s not necessarily a bad thing; the Diablo series has always attracted an obsessive fanbase that's happy to grind away at the same game for decades. In fact, considering the support Diablo games have historically enjoyed through ladder resets (Diablo II) and seasons (Diablo III), it has always felt a little strange that Blizzard has never charged for much beyond the base games and expansions. If you want a continuously supported game, it’s reasonable to expect to pay at least something for its upkeep, even if it's optional (though there are plenty of examples of games that have done just fine by releasing a ludicrous amount of free content over the years). And since there has been no new Diablo III content for quite some time beyond minor seasonal rebalancing, having a team dedicated to producing new seasonal content for the game—including, the blog post tells us, new gameplay features, quest lines, challenges, and live events—is very exciting indeed. Thankfully, Blizzard reiterated its earlier promise that Diablo IV will offer only cosmetics—not power—for cash. These cosmetics will come from two sources: an in-game shop that sells cosmetic armor pieces for premium currency and a paid battle pass. Seasons—the optional periodic character resets we saw in Diablo III—will remain free. In its post, Blizzard is almost falling over itself to reassure fans that Diablo IV is not Diablo Immortal.

"The way we approached designing the Shop and the cosmetics within it was by thinking about the experience we want players to have," the post says. "We want buying things to feel good—before, during, and after purchase. So, if players choose to buy something, it should be because they want to, not because they feel like they have to. It should also be clear to players exactly what they are getting before they choose to buy, with no unpleasant surprises." But as Ars Culture Editor Sam Machkovech pointed out to me, that cheery statement has some interesting undertones. First, the last sentence is a not-so-oblique reference to lootboxes, a monetization scheme that got Diablo Immortal banned from two European countries. With regulatory and governmental eyes continuing to zero in on the practice, the decision to eschew lootboxes becomes more prudent than beneficent, at least for a certain type of game. Further, of course Blizzard wants "buying things to feel good"! Why would a company not want to make buying things feel good? The whole "we're doing this for you" attitude ignores the fact that these "options" were not something anyone was asking for.

The best-looking cosmetics

The main reason people play looter games is to chase items that make their characters more powerful. Better stats, cool new abilities, combo-ready perks—this is why we burn embarrassing amounts of time clicking on monsters. But I also want to look cool. Buying a wacky skin in Fortnite doesn’t feel like a big deal, but in a game that’s all about finding cool loot, part of that cool factor comes from a piece of gear’s aesthetic appeal. Path of Exile, a true free-to-play ARPG, is often hailed as a game that does microtransactions right. Frankly, I don’t see it. Sure, you don’t have to pay a cent to play the game, though the in-game shop will sell you stash space, which is essential if you want to play seriously. What the game really wants to sell you, though, is cosmetic microtransactions. Thousands of them. Skins for armor, weapons, and characters; sparkly effects for your skills, portals, and even footprints; pets and hideout decorations—if there’s a way to monetize a visual element in the game, developer Grinding Gear Games has found it.

The worst part, though, is that there’s no real way to have a cool-looking character in Path of Exile without forking over cash. I’ve never been able to get into the game in earnest, but I recently tried it out again, and in the 25 or so hours I played, not once did I find a piece of armor that made me excited on an aesthetic level. The potato-sack, pot-helmet look my character was sporting at level 1 was essentially unchanged many hours later. I wasn’t interested in looking like the gaudy, particle-effect-drenched fantasy ravers I saw peacocking in the game’s social spaces, but, like, a cool helmet would have been nice? Blizzard is aware of this potential issue, and its blog post promises that “the best-looking cosmetics aren’t exclusive to the shop.” “Diablo IV will ship with hundreds of transmogs unlockable from drops in-game, including dozens of armor sets of the highest visual quality,” Blizzard promises. “There are incredible pieces—Unique and Legendary quality items—for players to find without ever going to the Shop. The Shop offers more diversity of choices, not systematically better choices.” To drive the point home, Blizzard posted side-by-side comparisons of in-game drops and purchasable armor sets. And yeah, these examples seem fine. The paid armor doesn’t look “better” than the included pieces; it’s just different. But that army of developers is not just being paid to produce new quests. What will the shop look like a year after release? Will Blizzard ever add new “free” armor sets to the game? It's certainly not in Blizzard's best interest to make the free options as exciting or varied. Destiny 2 is another game that sells cosmetic items in its in-game shop, which has seen many, many iterations over the years. At times, the shop has been downright friendly to players, offering plenty of ways to earn premium items without spending money. But the general trend—in Destiny 2 and most games with microtransactions—is toward less generosity. Blizzard will doubtlessly put its best foot forward at launch to assure players that there’s nothing to fear, but as anyone who has played a live service game can tell you, things can change. My main issue, though, is that buying cosmetics just isn’t fun. Finding a badass-looking flaming sword that dropped randomly during play? Exciting! Being rewarded with a raid-specific chest piece that’s only available from overcoming that challenge? Impressive! Putting in your credit card information to buy some virtual pants? About as exciting as picking up a pack of socks at Target.

Oh no, FOMO

Like pretty much every live service game on the market, Diablo IV will also have a battle pass—here called a “season pass”—that you level up by playing the game to earn rewards. And like most battle passes, there will be a free tier and paid premium tier. Interestingly, the free tier will offer some gameplay boosts, but Blizzard is adamant that the premium tier will reward only cosmetics and premium currency. Again, on balance, that’s not terrible. But I worry about the psychological trickery that invariably goes into these types of systems. A few seasons ago, I was playing Destiny 2, which also has a paid battle pass. Its version is way worse than Diablo IV’s proposed pass, as its premium track doles out gameplay-enhancing items. And since the pass lasts for just a few months, if there’s something you want near the end of the track—an exotic weapon skin, say—you’re always on the clock. You have to play enough to make it to the end—or, yes, pay to advance—or that sweet skin goes away forever. One day, I found myself thinking that I should really play the game for a bit because I was otherwise “wasting” the money I spent on the pass. A moment of “what am I doing with my life” self-consciousness came over me, and I haven’t logged in since. That's to say nothing of the FOMO-inducing limited-time activities and rewards Destiny 2 dangles over players' heads every season, a design philosophy that would work nicely in Diablo IV's beefed-up seasonal content. Diablo games are addictive enough. I don’t need some artificial timer or "play now or lose it forever" chore list guilt-tripping me into logging in every day to boost Blizzard’s player-retention numbers.

I worry because I care

I love Diablo, and I’m beside myself with excitement for Diablo IV. I want it to succeed for years to come. I’ve done a lot of complaining, but all things considered, Blizzard’s plans sound like they're about the best we could hope for, given the way live service games work. Diablo IV will not be Diablo Immortal, and we should all be very thankful for that. But I can’t help but feel bummed out that these systems will be in the game at all. Like many people, I was initially entranced by Diablo Immortal, but I bounced off it when its gross money-grubbing systems started to become overwhelming. Since its gameplay is almost identical to Diablo III’s, I decided to load up the latter one day to fill the void. And what I found was… a game. Just a fun game. No nagging pop-ups begging me to visit the shop, no content—cosmetic or otherwise—walled off behind microtransactions, no battle pass needling me to log in every day. I could play it when and how I wanted, without feeling like there was some suit behind the scenes trying to extract more money out of me at every turn. It’s the sort of thing that’s becoming rarer and rarer, and I miss it.