Comparing video game microtransactions: Diablo Immortal’s shop is notorious, but is it the worst in free-to-play titles?

Diablo Immortal hit the gaming sphere, not with a bang but with an outcry over the sheer volume of in-game purchases that the shop pushes at you. There are a lot of microtransaction options in Immortal… but is the game the most egregious microtransaction-supported title? With tons of free-to-play games on the market, we wondered if Diablo Immortal was really the worst of the worst.

To find out, we checked out a few popular games and compared their in-game stores. So let’s take a look at microtransaction-supported games and see how Diablo Immortal stacks up.

How we judged different games

We’re checking the same data for each game to try to get an apples-to-apples comparison between titles:

• Real money purchases: Can you purchase items directly or do all transactions require a shop-specific currency (SC)?
• Battle pass: Does the title have a battle pass system available or are all transactions are for ad-hoc items?
• Buffs: Is there a purchasable buff-over-time available that grants rewards or adds some kind of improvement to gameplay?
• Loot boxes: Are there bundle purchases available that could drop boosting items (XP, gear, character unlocks, etc)?
• Freebies: Is there a free option available? For example, a daily free loot box.
• In-game prompts: Are you prompted mid-gameplay for purchases?
• Multiple currencies: Can you use currencies earned through gameplay for shop transactions?
• XP: Is any level-up purchasable through the store? This includes purchasing items that grant experience or currencies required for skill-ups.
• Pricing: What does the pricing structure look like for the shop-specific currency?

Finally, we make some purchase comparisons. We’ll calculate real money estimates by using the closest currency bundle purchase possible to price out seemingly low-cost items to maintain consistency. Example: Imagine an item costs 1000 of a game’s shop currency, and you can get 1550 shop currency for $14.99. We’ll use this shop currency bundle for our math, as that will be closest to the amount needed.

Now let’s take a look at the games.

Diablo Immortal (Blizzard)

Diablo Immortal is the newest edition in Blizzard’s Diablo franchise. The title straddles the action roleplaying game (ARPG) and massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) genres, with the story set five years after the events of Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction. In the game, players explore Sanctuary to collect shattered Worldstone fragments and prevent a return of the Lord of Terror.

• Real-money purchases? Yes — bundle specials are available that will allow you to upgrade legendary gems.
• Battle pass? Yes
• Buffs? Yes
• Loot boxes? Yes
• Freebies? Yes
• In-game prompts? Yes
• Multiple currencies? Yes
• XP? No
• Pricing: $0.99 (60 SC), $4.99 (315 SC), $9.99 (630 SC), $24.99 (1650 SC), $49.99 (3450 SC), $99.99 (7200 SC)

Sample transactions:

• Cosmetic item (“Amber Blades” transmog) — 1000 SC 0r $15.14 (based on the $24.99 currency bundle)
• Bundle (Token of the Worthy) — $24.99
• Loot box (Tomb of Fahir Trove) — $4.99
• Buff (Boon of Plenty) — $9.99 for 30 days, stacks up to 90 days

Genshin Impact (Cognosphere)

A competing ARPG to DI, Genshin Impact combines open-world exploration with elements-based combat executed by your team of assembled characters. It’s known as a gacha title, encouraging purchases to unlock characters for your team rather than doing so through the storyline.

• Real-money purchases? No
• Battle pass? No
• Buffs? Yes
• Loot boxes? Yes
• Freebies? No
• In-game prompts? Yes — the Wish system, driven by a currency purchasable in the shop.
• Multiple currencies? Yes
• XP? Yes — requires currency only available through the Wish system.
• Pricing: $0.99 (60 SC), $4.99 (300 SC), $9.99 (980 SC), $29.99 (1980 SC), $49.99 (3280 SC), $99.99 (6480 SC)

Sample transactions:

• Cosmetic item (“Opulent Splendor” character outfit) — 1680 SC 0r $25.45 (based on the $29.99 currency bundle)
• Bundle (Adventurer’s Share Bundle) — 60 SC or $0.99
• Buff (Blessing of the Welkin Moon) — $4.99 for 30 days, stacks up to 180 days

Disney Mirrorverse (Kabam Games)

Truthfully, this one snuck in because of ad placement as it is a newer title. That said, it occupies the same App Store category (Role Playing) as Genshin Impact, Pokémon Go, and Diablo Immortal, and has the in-game store to back it up. Like Genshin, you rely on character unlocks through story or purchase to grow your team.

• Real-money purchases? Yes
• Battle pass? No
• Buffs? Yes
• Loot boxes? Yes
• Freebies? Yes
• In-game prompts? Yes
• Multiple currencies? Yes
• XP? Yes
• Pricing: $1.99 (70 SC), $4.99 (175 SC), $9.99 (350 SC), $29.99 (1055 CS), $49.99 (1755 SC), $99.99 (3520 SC)

Sample transactions:

• Character unlock (WALL-E) — $24.99
• Bundle (character unlocks, currencies) — $19.99
• Buffs (Beginner’s Orb Card) — $3.99 for 7 days

Pokémon Go (Niantic)

The app that got us off the couch and out the door, Pokémon Go is a mobile iteration of the popular Nintendo franchise. Players catch their own Pokémon wherever they are using a combination of geolocation and (if enabled) augmented reality. So yes, that Pikachu is virtually in your living room; toss a poké ball at it using your phone to catch the sneaky little Lightning critter.

• Real-money purchases? No
• Battle pass? No
• Buffs? Yes
• Loot boxes? Yes
• Freebies? Yes
• In-game prompts? No
• Multiple currencies? No
• XP? No
• Loot boxes?
• Pricing: $0.99 (100 SC), $4.99 (550 SC), $9.99 (1200 SC), $19.99 (2500 SC), $39.99 (5200 SC), $99.99 (14500 SC)

Sample transactions:

• Cosmetic item (Dedenne bag) — 200 SC 0r $1.81 based on the $4.99 currency bundle
• Bundle (20 poké balls) — 100 SC or $0.99
• Loot box (Starter box) — $2.99
• Buff (Incense) — 40 SC or $0.40 based on the $0.99 currency bundle, for 60 minutes of luring Pokémon to your location.

Call of Duty Mobile (Activision)

The only battle royale contender, Call of Duty Mobile is the fifth in a line of mobile titles for Activision’s franchise. The shooter seems quite popular, having racked up over 35 million downloads within its first few days.

• Real-money purchases? No
• Battle pass? Yes
• Buffs? Yes
• Loot boxes? Yes
• Freebies? No
• In-game prompts? No
• Multiple currencies? Yes
• XP? Yes
• Loot boxes?
• Pricing: $0.99 (80 SC), $4.99 (420 SC), $9.99 (880 SC), $19.99 (2400 SC), $39.99 (5000 SC), $99.99 (10800 SC)

Sample transactions:

• Cosmetic item (Spray) — 250 SC or $2.97 (based on the $4.99 currency bundle)
• Bundle (Armory Pack – Lights Out 1) — 2400 SC or $19.99
• Loot box (Charred Crate) — 60 SC or $0.74 based on the $0.99 currency bundle
• Buff (Ground Forces, includes the Battle Pass) — $10.99/mo

Ranking

Okay, now that we’ve got our raw numbers, let’s see who’s the priciest:

• Most expensive buff? Diablo Immortal or Call of Duty: Mobile
• Most expensive cosmetic? Genshin Impact
• Most expensive “basic” bundle? Disney Mirrorverse
• Most potential to surprise you with many little purchases? Pokémon Go.

We didn’t dive into the high-end purchases here — for example, bundles in Diablo Immortal or Disney Mirrorverse can go up to $99.99 And I don’t think this article necessarily absolves any companies of their monetization tactics. This was just a glance into how truly “free” the free-to-play titles can be.

As an aside, Path of Exile mobile is one title not available yet that would’ve been fantastic for comparison, as the title has been a long competitor in the same market as Diablo 3. We don’t have a release date for the title yet, but I’m confident its store will be extensive. After all, the store for the PC game is vast and overwhelming on its own.

I hope this has been as valuable and eye-opening a review for you as I found it! Play safe, and keep a close watch on your wallet.