Diablo Immortal experienced a surge in revenue last month, breaking into the top 10 highest-grossing mobile titles globally. The game continues to grow despite all the controversy surrounding its monetization.
The highest-grossing mobile games of August 2022
- According to the latest Sensor Tower report, Tencent’s Honor of Kings once again took first place, generating over $222 million. 94% of revenue came from China, followed by Taiwan (2.3%) and Thailand (1.8%).
- PUBG Mobile, another title operated by Tencent, finished second with $156.3 million in revenue. China accounted for 60.7% of total player spending.
- These games are followed by Genshin Impact, Candy Crush Saga, and Fate/Grand Order.
- The global mobile games market generated $6.6 billion in August, which is down 12.4% year-over-year.
- The US accounted for 28% of global player spending ($1.9 billion), followed by Japan (20%) and China (17.4%).
How did Diablo Immortal perform last month?
- As reported by Sensor Tower, Diablo Immortal ranked as the sixth highest-grossing mobile title globally in August.
- The game generated $97 million on iOS and Android, which is up 42% month-over-month.
- This is close to Diablo Immortal’s revenue in the first eight weeks since its launch on June 2.
- Diablo Immortal continues to show growth, all thanks to its launch in China on July 25. The country currently accounts for 61% of total player spending, followed by the US with 16%.
Diablo Immortal’s controversy
The game has drawn a lot of criticism from players at launch, becoming the lowest-rated title in Blizzard’s history. This is largely due to its monetization model, which almost turns it into the pay-to-win experience in the end game. According to some calculations, it takes over $500k to max out a character.
Blizzard president Mike Ybarra later tried to justify Diablo Immortal’s P2W mechanics. He noted that monetization comes in only at the end game and that the “vast majority of players” are not spending money.
Some developers, however, criticized Blizzard’s approach. In June, Riot producer Juno Blees shared her thoughts on predatory P2W mechanics in mobile games, saying that large companies care about revenue KPIs rather than trying to give players a better gameplay experience.