Blizzard’s Hack and Slash Diablo 3 continues to receive major content patches at no cost to players. What is the reason behind this?
Diablo 3 is a strange game when it comes to the monetization model. Even though new game content, items, zones, and dungeons are being released with Patch 2.3. or soon with 2.4, it costs players nothing. There are no subscriptions or the now typical “microtransactions,” or purchases from an in-game shop. Only the base game and the expansion “Reaper of Souls” need to be purchased.
What is behind this generous attitude?
Free game content is a kind of apology for the release
As indicated in an interview on the sidelines of Blizzcon, this was a decision by Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime. When the Diablo team discussed monetization after Reaper of Souls, Morhaime decided: “Just release the stuff for free.” It seemed Morhaime was trying to win back the hearts and minds of players who were disappointed by the release.
One of the major criticisms at that time, besides a stingy loot system, was the real-money auction house.
The Diablo team said they were primarily concerned with “pride,” pride in the game and the desire to meet Blizzard’s high standards.
Will the Nemesis system come to PC?
The Nemesis system that works so well on consoles is something they would like to bring to Diablo on PC. However, this involves an incredible amount of work, as consoles handle friend lists very differently than Battle.net. In the Nemesis system, a player who defeats a hero can switch into the game of one of that hero’s friends and cause trouble as an enhanced opponent. If the friend manages to defeat them, there is loot for both players.
