Diablo 4 not only lived up to the hype but also appears to be living up to its lofty sales expectations. The first mainline entry into the franchise since 2012’s Diablo 3 is now its fastest-selling entry. It’s also the fastest-selling game for Blizzard Entertainment of all time.
Activision Blizzard’s press release skirts hard sales numbers in favor of player engagement. The company touts players have played Diablo 4 for more than 93 million hours since early access began on June 1 with the purchase of the $100 Ultimate Edition.
Here’s what Mike Ybarra, President of Blizzard Entertainment, had to say:
“Our vision at Blizzard is to create legendary experiences for all to share, and Diablo IV is an incredible realization of that vision,” said Mike Ybarra, President of Blizzard Entertainment. “With highly customizable gameplay, gripping storytelling, and plenty of options around how to engage with the world, this masterfully crafted expression of the Diablo universe is an outstanding example of what our talented development teams are capable of. Whether you’re a veteran of the series or diving into Sanctuary for the first time, we welcome players to the global launch of Diablo IV.”
It’s an impressive feat for the Diablo 4 team. While I haven’t hit the end game yet, the Diablo gameplay is as addictive as ever. And kudos to the networking team at Blizzard for launching an always-online game with minimal downtime. There was only a hiccup for an hour or two on Saturday. Not bad, considering most game launches these days instantly melt their servers. We will see how it fares tonight and this weekend now that the official release date is here.
As for how much Diablo 4 actually sold? We won’t get any real numbers until Activision Blizzard’s next earnings report. But we have a floor based on Diablo 3’s launch sales numbers. In May 2012, Diablo 3 sold more than 3.5 million copies in the first 24 hours of launch. Diablo 4 should do much more than this. The main reason being Diablo 3 was a PC-only launch in 2012. It wouldn’t hit consoles until later. With Diablo 4, the game hit PC, PlayStation, and Xbox simultaneously.
So, we know the minimum it’s sold. Until Activision Blizzard says more during an earnings report, expect more player engagement numbers, like how many monsters slayed, etc.