These website earning models do not align with what Activision posts quarterly. I would take the data as a nothingburger. Until/If Activision releases a number, then it is not real. There is also a split on how much netease makes and how much Blizzard makes.
So any hope the community would punish the monetization scheme has been buried in a mound of cash?
That was a false hope from it's inception. The collective will to enact such a punishment doesn't exist.
Every now and then consumers have revolted against certain monetization models (i.e. EVE's Monacle gate, lootbox removal by devs or legislation against them in some countries) although are rare in occurrence.
Thing is, it's very hard if not impossible to measure how much money a company loses from the percentage of consumers who chose not to purchase a game over its monetization design.
Blizzard made "$666B" in 5 days. Perhaps they could have made more with a different monetization model, but there's no real way to measure this.
Most big companies do a lot of research on consumer behavior so they have a pretty good idea what sells and how much people will pay for most products, not just games.
Sure, they miss sometimes (Edsel, New Coke etc.) but they get it right far more often then not, hence the companies and those who run them tend to be obscenely wealthy from their success.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
What happened to all the people on here saying Mobile exclusive games easily make way more money than similiar PC and Consoles combined.
D4 made more money in 5 days than DI made in a year.
I guess that theory just went out the window.
No one went anywhere because your conclusion is pretty bad. King makes half again as much as Blizzard does in any given quarter. Jumping into first position for an instance doesn't change anything. Surely you see that. Diablo Immortal, isn't all of mobile.
Next month, let alone, next quarter, D4 won't have those revenue numbers like they just did. It is a really good game, but it will likely see the same trend as New World. On the otherhand the consistent revenue of King will stay strong. Even Diablo Immortal may out revenue D4 in the long run as there is more incentive to spend and spend a lot in Immortal, with D4 not so much.
What happened to all the people on here saying Mobile exclusive games easily make way more money than similiar PC and Consoles combined.
D4 made more money in 5 days than DI made in a year.
I guess that theory just went out the window.
No one went anywhere because your conclusion is pretty bad. King makes half again as much as Blizzard does in any given quarter. Jumping into first position for an instance doesn't change anything. Surely you see that. Diablo Immortal, isn't all of mobile.
Next month, let alone, next quarter, D4 won't have those revenue numbers like they just did. It is a really good game, but it will likely see the same trend as New World. On the otherhand the consistent revenue of King will stay strong. Even Diablo Immortal may out revenue D4 in the long run as there is more incentive to spend and spend a lot in Immortal, with D4 not so much.
Not to mention DI probably cost a small fraction of what D4 did to make.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
While I never made that kind of claim myself, I wouldn't argue it's a false claim for these reasons. You can make big initial sales, but those are not going to be the same as sustained revenue.
Point in case, how much revenue Genshin Impact has made mihoyo. As long as Immortal keeps some whales around willing to spend millions just to PvP or hammer through seasons and gems, that game will keep earning money.
Bit of the thing to think about the long term plans for D4 and it's recurring revenue though.
ValdemarJ said: D4 won't have those revenue numbers like they just did. It is a really good game, but it will likely see the same trend as New World.
I doubt that. New World's trend was special I'm not aware of any other MMO or online GASS game that bottomed out as precipitously as NW has now done twice.
D4 will see the trend of other B2P online games with expansion earning bumps (they said they're already working on not 1 but the first 2 expansions.)
They will see a slow trickle from cosmetics and paid battle pass sales but Xpacs are the post-launch earners for B2P games.
But yeah, the aggressively monetized F2P games have been the big earners for years.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Yeah, I'm not claiming it will have the same dropoff curve. Every game is different in that regard.
In context, my point was about revenue generation compared to aggressively monetized mobile games, not player concurrency or that drop off.
The direct comparison I have to New World is how anemic and uninteresting the cash shop is. If there are 3 - 4 seasons a year and they try to sell a $20 - $25 battle pass every quarter, then I think they're going to run into some trouble. Keeping massive revenue generation up. On the other hand if they keep a decent playerbase and can sell an xpac a year, then I think it could stay strong.
The other more direct comparison I have is how the game doubles down on hardcore and grind once the campaign is done. I think we'll have a better idea of how good or bad this all feels once we get into the first season.
The other more direct comparison I have is how the game doubles down on hardcore and grind once the campaign is done. I think we'll have a better idea of how good or bad this all feels once we get into the first season.
That part of it is also IMO temporary in the sense that the story is not complete and I don't see them increasing the level cap when they add more story. It could very well be that once they add to the main quest that could be with you as you level to 60 or even 70 making it that much less grindy.
Diablo 3 had story content, such as it was, that took you up to max level or very nearly there. Most ARPGs do actually. That is something that IMO is missing in D4.
I'm not holding my breath but the client patch to 1.1 coming probably in the next few days, could also do some XP tweaking. The grind currently is a bit of a problem so I hope they realize that and adjust it some.
Edit: I just saw on the launcher that they scheduled 4.5-hour maintenance on Tuesday so now we know when the 1.1 patch is coming.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
What happened to all the people on here saying Mobile exclusive games easily make way more money than similiar PC and Consoles combined.
D4 made more money in 5 days than DI made in a year.
I guess that theory just went out the window.
No one went anywhere because your conclusion is pretty bad. King makes half again as much as Blizzard does in any given quarter. Jumping into first position for an instance doesn't change anything. Surely you see that. Diablo Immortal, isn't all of mobile.
Next month, let alone, next quarter, D4 won't have those revenue numbers like they just did. It is a really good game, but it will likely see the same trend as New World. On the otherhand the consistent revenue of King will stay strong. Even Diablo Immortal may out revenue D4 in the long run as there is more incentive to spend and spend a lot in Immortal, with D4 not so much.
People were saying Blizzard releasing to mobile would make the game more money than if they catered to PC/Console. It doesnt matter if the overall market in mobile is bigger or not. It only matter if the resources they put in will make them more money on a mobile game versus another platform.
Your entire analysis is flawed as it concludes that because the mobile market is bigger that it somehow means there is more profit there.
People saying DI would outperform D4 were flat out wrong.
Breaking it down even further, DI did most of its revenue in the first 6 months. Its revenue in Feb 2023, was only $11 million.
Meanwhile D4 is likely to sell easily 30 million copies not counting other sources of income. It will also make money from expansions etc... D4 is going to be making BILLIONS with a B, where DI will be making only Millions with an M.
So much for mobile games beating pc/console version combined. Seems to me pc/console catered games is beating mobile version by an order of magnitude.
What happened to all the people on here saying Mobile exclusive games easily make way more money than similiar PC and Consoles combined.
D4 made more money in 5 days than DI made in a year.
I guess that theory just went out the window.
No one went anywhere because your conclusion is pretty bad. King makes half again as much as Blizzard does in any given quarter. Jumping into first position for an instance doesn't change anything. Surely you see that. Diablo Immortal, isn't all of mobile.
Next month, let alone, next quarter, D4 won't have those revenue numbers like they just did. It is a really good game, but it will likely see the same trend as New World. On the otherhand the consistent revenue of King will stay strong. Even Diablo Immortal may out revenue D4 in the long run as there is more incentive to spend and spend a lot in Immortal, with D4 not so much.
People were saying Blizzard releasing to mobile would make the game more money than if they catered to PC/Console. It doesnt matter if the overall market in mobile is bigger or not. It only matter if the resources they put in will make them more money on a mobile game versus another platform.
Your entire analysis is flawed as it concludes that because the mobile market is bigger that it somehow means there is more profit there.
People saying DI would outperform D4 were flat out wrong.
Breaking it down even further, DI did most of its revenue in the first 6 months. Its revenue in Feb 2023, was only $11 million.
Meanwhile D4 is likely to sell easily 30 million copies not counting other sources of income. It will also make money from expansions etc... D4 is going to be making BILLIONS with a B, where DI will be making only Millions with an M.
So much for mobile games beating pc/console version combined. Seems to me pc/console catered games is beating mobile version by an order of magnitude.
Putting the game on mobile did give Blizzard more money than if the catered solely to PC/console.
It's not a matter of one or the other when they can instead opt to currently derive revenue from both.
Where the Bs and Ms come from doesn't much matter when they all go into the same pile.
Putting the game on mobile did give Blizzard more money than if the catered solely to PC/console.
It's not a matter of one or the other when they can instead opt to currently derive revenue from both.
Where the Bs and Ms come from doesn't much matter when they all go into the same pile.
The issue was not if they could make multiple games or not. Its people saying that currently mobile games are more profitable and it makes sense blizzard would focus there. Obviously that theory has aged like milk and was completely debunked.
I dont disagree, you can get profit from multiple games. But when time, resources, focus and employee teams are scarce you should put that into the most profitable ventures where you will see both short and long term gain.
Instead if they put the team on a new MMO instead of the Mobile P2W junk they produced, who knows how much more money they could have made.
There is also the issue of of lost opportunity. Where if they would have focused on D4 vs DI they might have released much earlier and already been well on their way to an even more profitable game. But they were distracted with the P2W mobile junk. Additoinally DI pissed alot of players off, there are many like myself that have decided not to buy D4 due to blizzard greediness. There is definetly money left on the table.
Long term DI profits have almost been tapped out, as the monthly revenue for it is way way down.
Comments
That was a false hope from it's inception. The collective will to enact such a punishment doesn't exist.
Thing is, it's very hard if not impossible to measure how much money a company loses from the percentage of consumers who chose not to purchase a game over its monetization design.
Blizzard made "$666B" in 5 days. Perhaps they could have made more with a different monetization model, but there's no real way to measure this.
Most big companies do a lot of research on consumer behavior so they have a pretty good idea what sells and how much people will pay for most products, not just games.
Sure, they miss sometimes (Edsel, New Coke etc.) but they get it right far more often then not, hence the companies and those who run them tend to be obscenely wealthy from their success.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
D4 made more money in 5 days than DI made in a year.
I guess that theory just went out the window.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Point in case, how much revenue Genshin Impact has made mihoyo. As long as Immortal keeps some whales around willing to spend millions just to PvP or hammer through seasons and gems, that game will keep earning money.
Bit of the thing to think about the long term plans for D4 and it's recurring revenue though.
D4 will see the trend of other B2P online games with expansion earning bumps (they said they're already working on not 1 but the first 2 expansions.)
They will see a slow trickle from cosmetics and paid battle pass sales but Xpacs are the post-launch earners for B2P games.
But yeah, the aggressively monetized F2P games have been the big earners for years.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Diablo 3 had story content, such as it was, that took you up to max level or very nearly there. Most ARPGs do actually. That is something that IMO is missing in D4.
I'm not holding my breath but the client patch to 1.1 coming probably in the next few days, could also do some XP tweaking. The grind currently is a bit of a problem so I hope they realize that and adjust it some.
Edit: I just saw on the launcher that they scheduled 4.5-hour maintenance on Tuesday so now we know when the 1.1 patch is coming.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Your entire analysis is flawed as it concludes that because the mobile market is bigger that it somehow means there is more profit there.
People saying DI would outperform D4 were flat out wrong.
Breaking it down even further, DI did most of its revenue in the first 6 months. Its revenue in Feb 2023, was only $11 million.
Meanwhile D4 is likely to sell easily 30 million copies not counting other sources of income. It will also make money from expansions etc... D4 is going to be making BILLIONS with a B, where DI will be making only Millions with an M.
So much for mobile games beating pc/console version combined. Seems to me pc/console catered games is beating mobile version by an order of magnitude.
Putting the game on mobile did give Blizzard more money than if the catered solely to PC/console.
Where the Bs and Ms come from doesn't much matter when they all go into the same pile.
The issue was not if they could make multiple games or not. Its people saying that currently mobile games are more profitable and it makes sense blizzard would focus there. Obviously that theory has aged like milk and was completely debunked.
I dont disagree, you can get profit from multiple games. But when time, resources, focus and employee teams are scarce you should put that into the most profitable ventures where you will see both short and long term gain.
Instead if they put the team on a new MMO instead of the Mobile P2W junk they produced, who knows how much more money they could have made.
There is also the issue of of lost opportunity. Where if they would have focused on D4 vs DI they might have released much earlier and already been well on their way to an even more profitable game. But they were distracted with the P2W mobile junk. Additoinally DI pissed alot of players off, there are many like myself that have decided not to buy D4 due to blizzard greediness. There is definetly money left on the table.
Long term DI profits have almost been tapped out, as the monthly revenue for it is way way down.