Diablo 4 dev reveals how much microtransactions make for Blizzard

Diablo 4‘s success has translated to significant income for Blizzard, including through the game’s much-maligned microtransactions.

As first reported by GamePressure, Senior Product Manager Harrison Froeschke shared on LinkedIn some insights into his work on the game, including specific details about pertinent financials.

Perhaps the most noteworthy takeaway was the particular attention Froeschke paid to the role of microtransactions in the post.

“Leading the monetization strategy of the store cosmetics, pricing, bundle offers, personalized discounts, and roadmap planning, which have driven over $150M MTX lifetime revenue,” he said.

Game Pressure

The prominence of microtransactions in Diablo IV is a constant point of contention among the community, though these numbers are exceptionally high. The addition of the game to Xbox Game Pass only served to draw in more players and thus opened up avenues for more potential MTX buyers.

Froeschke then went on to provide a broader look at the financial situation surrounding Diablo IV, confirming that it has surpassed $1 billion in total revenue.

“Executed every step of game sales since game pre-order to the first expansion by configuring and collaborating with other teams resulting in over $1B total lifetime revenue,” Froeschke said.

This won’t come as a particular surprise to those who caught Diablo’s revenue at the last official count. In a blog post on the official Activision Blizzard website, the developer confirmed that it had surpassed $666 million in sales just five days after the game’s release.

Though this rate of income naturally slows down over time, it was always a safe bet that the overall revenue would have passed the billion mark by now.

The Vessel of Hatred expansion is also set to launch on October 8, along with the arrival of the new Spiritborn class, likely driving Diablo’s income up even further. The live game is now well into its fifth season, with a sixth confirmed to release at the same time as the new expansion.