D4 had over 1 million closed beta access players, with multi-millions expected this weekend. Wow.

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Foreverhappychan wrote:

Those open beta stats are interesting.

2.6 million accounts hit level 20.

61 million hours played -- so if every single participant had played non-stop, that'd be 884k people. Realistically, probably closer to 4 million participants.

And one dude almost soloed the world boss.

Yeah that was my take too, somewhere just shy of 4 million probably. That's... just insane, and many played a good chunk of time. I don't see how else you can take that but a huge win.

The pre-orders and day one numbers will likely be over 5 million. I have no idea where it will actually finish up, but it will be a historically massive launch.

Edit: updated the OP with the infochart for those interested.

I don't think I will replay it much -- I am here for the width, not the depth. But I expect, and this feels weird when talking about Blizzard 2023, quality over quantity is their actual goal. Character as a fairly basic vehicle through a layered, rich world where almost every other ARPG does the opposite. So here's a thought: how much money does a b2p (with optional battle pass or paid dlc as expanaion) have to make in its run to justify not going the easier f2p+mtx route? Elden Ring cleared 20 million units -- a billion USD in revenue give or take? In a year.

I would say that is a good example of a b2p curb stomping most f2p. UmaMusume probably rivaled that much in its first year. Genshin hit 2b in its first year. Neither are quality gaming but that is beside the point.

Diablo IV should make a cool 30mil in its early days including pre orders but its shithead older brother DI is still making a lot more than that (roughly ten times aa much). I am deeply....deeply glad that DIV isn't f2p but I have to wonder just what sort of numbers it needs to pull in to satisfy Blizzard shareholders and execs.

Or if they are giving it a pass as it represents a chance at something money can't buy: a little redemption after years of shitstorms, misfires, crises and controversies.

I had more to say but I just deleted it as it skims fora-unfriendly topics. This suffices: DIV clearly isn't designed to cater to any particularly sensitive markets. :)

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Foreverhappychan wrote:

Diablo IV should make a cool 30mil in its early days including pre orders but its shithead older brother DI is still making a lot more than that (roughly ten times aa much). I am deeply....deeply glad that DIV isn't f2p but I have to wonder just what sort of numbers it needs to pull in to satisfy Blizzard shareholders and execs.

This imo heavily underestimates D4's sales potential. D3 sold 30 million copies in the first month. At $60 per download, that's 1.8 billion dollars.

D4 might sell less, but it's also more expensive - a conservative estimate would imo be in the 10 - 20 million copies sales range for the first month, which would be around a billion dollars in revenue.

D:I's 2022 total earnings were around $200 million (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1325853/diablo-immortal-player-spending-app/) so it doesn't come even close to D3 reality (even without adjusting it for inflation), or the D4 potential.

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Xyel wrote:

D3 sold 30 million copies in the first month.

Not to minimize the D3 performance, because they pumped out some absolutely dumb numbers, but they didn't hit 30 million sales until fall of 2015. (12 million first-year)

Edit: 65+ million was the last number we got in 2022

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DarthSki44 wrote:

"

Xyel wrote:

D3 sold 30 million copies in the first month.

Not to minimize the D3 performance, because they pumped out some absolutely dumb numbers, but they didn't hit 30 million sales until fall of 2015. (12 million first-year)

Edit: 65+ million was the last number we got in 2022

Hmph, turns out my number indeed was bullshit. Those 65+ million copies sold are crazy though.

Sorry, you're telling me D3 sold

12 million in Year 1,

then 30 million after x amount of years
and now in 2022 they sold 65 mil?

Sorry I don't believe these figures.

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Mmmtastyy wrote:

Sorry I don't believe these figures.

It's not like D3 was the Manhattan Project. You can just check for yourself with minimal effort on Google.

No sorry, companies have many reasons to fudge numbers

65 million doesn't look right

jus sayin

You know the drill, DS44. Picard.jpg.

65m total in ten years looks possible to me. 30m PC by 2015. Plus consoles. Yeah, that tracks for a Diablo original with an expansion and light seasons in a market where a lot of people's Diablo-like experience starts and ends with Diablo itself. Why bother with alternatives if the one title is enough of a genre largely considered out of date?

Man those "patch notes" are solid.

Can't believe they caved on the sans serif font but jesus H bless em anyway. It was the last vestige of non-Diabloness in the UI imo.

Hydra untouched but eh they'll figure that one out.

Giving cellars more meaning is a no brainer.

More dungeon events and layout improvements good.

Still not sure how they will address the need to respec melee against dungeon bosses.