Ever since Blizzard released Diablo 4 last year, the game has been facing criticism due to various reasons, which include it not being able to live up to its genre-defining predecessor from more than a decade ago. During the latest special episode of the Official Xbox Podcast featuring Phil Spencer, it was revealed that the fourth mainline Diablo installment will be making its way to Xbox Game Pass by the end of next month.
However, as “free” as it may seem to the service’s subscribers, the in-game microtransactions are looking to take as much money as possible from its player base.
Diablo 4 Adds Its Own Twist to In-Game Microtransactions
Diablo 4 is no stranger to horrible microtransactions and has been constantly criticized for it, but Blizzard doesn’t seem to care about any of the backlash, as it released yet another bundle whose price just feels unjustified and predatory. There is obviously something very wrong with the whole situation when the recently revealed Vitreous Scourge bundle is actually priced higher than the base version of the fourth mainline Diablo game.
Sitting at $64.99 on the official Battlenet website, all it includes is a majestic virtual horse and 7,000 Platinum, which is honestly quite ridiculous.
To put things into more context, the base version of Diablo 4 is currently priced at $41.99 on Steam as a part of the platform’s discounted offers, and the sale prices of the other special editions make this bundle situation even more hilarious. Even the Ultimate Edition of Blizzard’s game currently costs less than the Vitreous Scourge pack, so it is quite interesting to wonder what the team was thinking while deciding on a price for just one horse and some in-game resources.
Unfortunately, the only way to acquire the Crystal-clad mount is to purchase the bundle, as it cannot be bought separately or unlocked in the game.
Fans Are Naturally Not Too Fond of This Unjustified Price
Since live-service games like Diablo 4 are highly dependent on their player bases, they have to ensure that their in-game microtransactions do not come off as obvious predatory cash grabs, but Blizzard seems to have missed that memo because fans are naturally not supportive of the overpriced Vitreous Scourge bundle.
One user on X pointed out that whoever makes the decision to buy this $65 pack is “part of the problem” that has been plaguing the gaming industry in recent times.
Another player joked about the reason why Blizzard chose to call its game “Diablo 4 because every item is priced at 4 times its normal value.” Even players who have been playing and enjoying the latest Diablo installment stated that a cool-looking virtual mount being priced this high is absolutely “insane,” while others noted how the horse should have been a reward for completing certain difficult challenges in the game.
What are your thoughts on Vitreous Scourge’s price? Let us know in the comments!
