Diablo Immortal has been given an exceptionally rough ride for this model of business and perhaps in a way when you consider that other popular free-to play games such as Genshin Impact and Lost Ark do not lack similar gacha mechanisms to draw in high-priced "whale" gamer Diablo 2 Resurrected Items. Diablo's popularity and fame with the core PC gaming community, accumulated over a quarter of a century, is surely a factor. But it's also true that this game is particularly challenging and the nature of Diablo games is something to do.
When you buy legendary crests, it is not purchasing a roll of dice as you would when buying the FIFA Ultimate Team card pack like. The purchase is an opportunity to fill the dice with dice, to access the game engine and modify the drop rate (slightly) in your favor.
Its addictive gameplay mechanics aren't separated from the addictive game mechanics, but rather tied directly into combat and loot drops within the game. Diablo is extremely well-placed to achieve this. As my colleague Maddy Myers pointed out, these games with a lot of loot focus have always had the feel of a slot machine which Diablo Immortal's business model makes literal.
Blizzard has repeatedly tried to highlight that Immortal's monetization is able to be ignored until the final game that is the case, and claims that the majority of players love playing the game without spending any money buy D2R ladder items, which is plausible. However, it's not true that the primary pleasure of Diablo games resides in playing through the story rather than the ability to max out your character.
