A Senior Product Manager from Diablo 4 revealed on LinkedIn how much revenue the hack-and-slash MMO has generated so far, including through microtransactions. This was probably not intended. Meanwhile, the exciting details have disappeared from the employee’s profile page.
Who is it at Blizzard? Harrison Froeschke has been with Blizzard for almost five years and has taken on the role of Senior Product Manager for Diablo 4 since March 2023. On his LinkedIn profile, he proudly explains what tasks he has already mastered and what he is currently working on.
Two points read as follows on linkedin.com:
- “Leading the monetization strategy of cosmetic items in the shop, pricing, bundle offers, personalized discounts, and roadmap planning that enabled a successful MTX live service.”
- “I oversaw every step of the game sales process from pre-order to the first expansion by designing and collaborating with other teams, resulting in massive revenue success.”
With Vessel of Hatred, a new expansion for Diablo 4 will be released later this year – here is a trailer:
After launch record follows revenue slump
How much money has Diablo 4 made so far? However, this is not the original version of the two texts. You can find the original, as the internet notoriously forgets nothing, for example on mmorpg.org.pl. It states, among other things, that Diablo 4 has managed to generate “150 million US dollars in microtransactions” through its monetization strategy so far.
On the other hand, Diablo 4 is said to have generated “more than 1 billion US dollars” in revenue during its runtime. That sounds like a lot, but it becomes relativized when considering that the hack-and-slash MMO reportedly generated 666 million US dollars within the first five days after launch (via businesswire.com).
In other words, after the best launch in Blizzard’s history, Diablo 4 could only generate an estimated 334+ million US dollars in the approximately 15 months that followed – a significant sum, but also a steep decline in revenue. This could explain why Harrison Froeschke later adjusted his LinkedIn profile and deleted the specific numbers.
What is the current status of Diablo 4? In August, Season 5 of the hack-and-slash adventure started, and on October 8, 2024, the first expansion for Diablo 4, Vessel of Hatred, will follow. Included: the new class Spiritborn; Kurast and Nahantu as new areas, NPC companions, and much more.
According to our Diablo 4 expert Benedict Grothaus, the fourth season was already a turning point in the right direction, and the planned features and improvements for the addon address the right areas. You can find Benedict’s entire assessment of the game’s development so far here: Diablo 4 after one year: How Blizzard’s latest hit has developed
