Official D2R Gameplay Numbers ??? Would you pay for pleasure?

I'm sure Blizzard will release some sort of D2R gameplay data when they report their next quarterly earnings, but aside from that, is there anyway to find out home many games are going on and how popular the game is in general? Not just current data, but data since the inception of D2R.

If interest in the game falls off a cliff, what measures do you think Blizzard would implement in order to keep users engaged?


Yes, we all know that money makes the world go round and they'll only put in effort if they get rewarded for it...

How opposed would you be to a monthly subscription service if they guaranteed new content? What about a 1 time fee for additional content?


And I want you to really, really think about it.... I know your first instinct is something like F no....

Most of us are 35+, married, kids, careers.... the whole nine. So you're telling me that an extra $5 per month (or whatever) would be too expensive to invest into a game that gives you so much pleasure?
How much money do you routinely spend on other leisure time activities? A single cocktail at a

Club is $15 or a beer in the Super Dome is $13.

And I'm not hating on D2R. And I understand what D2R is. Its a remake, not a new game/content.
But I'm looking into the future. I dont feel like a ladder with a couple of runewords is gonna cut it for most of us.....

Personally, D2R Is feeding my thrist and

Hunger of gambling, of course with the fun added to it otherwise I would go elsewhere.. Im playing d2 for 10 years and I think it would be a shame if they'd monetise a sort of subscription and would probably mean I'm out.. I'm 25 and have no kids and stuff but 5€ a month when u add all the things I have to pay every month (rent, electricity, water, insurances for house/car, food and stuff..) I'd prefer to put 5€ elsewhere (if it's monthly mind you, 5*12=60e a year, if I play another 10-15 years it's about 650€ add to that the price of the game.. That alot)
I don't think most people would play a "free game" that would became a money making machine for a company that has already billions..
I'm sure some people will, but that's not gonna give more people want to buy the game... If you wanna have a pretty good time (depends) on the game you need to play quite alot, to be able to grind your stuff, the runes etc..
This would only mean people already addicted to the game may (or may not) pay for extras content, which is pretty much a gamble for Blizzard imo.. We're not talking about the 234584th fifa or cod that is gonna come out. There will be no D2R 2 and most people with the nostalgia of the game wants to keep the game as close as it had been for 20 years (beside some qol and balance for some forgotten spells and nich builds)

For me a monthly subscription would mean more of a complete rejection of the game, yes I can afford to pay $5 or $50 a month, but I don't see any point in that. D2R has almost nothing to offer me even for free anymore, much less a subscription. D2r already has big problems with player retention, I'm not talking about a couple of tens of thousands of fans, but a wide range of players.

For my part, I won't decline to buy really big additions like LoD was.

But in general I think it's difficult, d2 has pretty little potential in terms of content (one or two big updates I can imagine, but hardly more), unless we're talking about so much change to the game that it stops being that d2.

Given that the management and investors of any major company do not care about users and their desires, we can assume that most likely will come out a maximum of one major addition for some money, then there will be support for the project for a short time and most likely the project will be abandoned again.

The only thing i see that could happen is payed character slots and/or stash tabs.

Darq wrote: 3 years ago

The only thing i see that could happen is payed character slots and/or stash tabs.

tbh I wouldn't mind that at all, I mean PoE has that as their base business model and it worked great for them and that community, plus having optional features like that seems to me to be unobtrusively P2W or money-grubbing, since the base game remains unchanged or affected by the cash bought extras. If Blizz wants to keep generating income from D2R, that would be a great way to do so without rippling waves in our community imo. I am adamantly opposed to a monthly subscription fee for us to keep playing D2R. That would kill the game and create a wide backlash.

I would def pay for new content which I think is what you are asking

Blizzard has to be very careful on how they will monetize the game. Any changes in the RNG or experience, may give them short term returns, but kill the game long-term (just look at WoW Classic).

As Darq says, perhaps the least sub-optimal monetized upgrade would be adding character slots and stash tabs.

If there was a new expansion I’d be the first in the queue prepared to pay £40 max (that’s expensive for an expansion but I’d know I’d pay it) but I’d be against a monthly subscription. I think the last game I did that was with Wow and I had my moneys worth for a year or so but because it was new fresh experience. I don’t think additional content for a twenty year old game merits paying for month after month.

I would even like it if they would monetize it. Simply because that could mean for us, that they keep developing it.

It's maybe HOW they monetize it how I would decide if I quit or keep playing.

For example I wouldn't mind paying a small fee for extra stash tabs.
Why? Because It is very playable without them, but it would add convenience to me. It's not necessary.

I would even consider paying a semi-yearly fee. Like 10$ for 6 months. I don't think I would pay more. I'd rather quit then and play other games.

Another thought, ladder:
Why not monetize ladder? Make the game free (or at least very cheap), but take a very small amount for "ladder access". Like 5$ per ladder (if it's 3-4 months like it used to be).

Meaning: Hardcore-players pay a small amount to have the ladder thrill. Those are often those players who really invest hours into the game, so investment-return in playing hours would compensate.
Ladder access would also mean access to the new runewords/changes to the new ladder, so there is motivation in playing it.
After ladder, turn those changes over to non-ladder, so everyone has access to it. Then wait a bit, start a new ladder, new "access pass" and start from beginning.

This is how you could monetize the game, keep "free-to-play-players" and also add more and more content/changes over a longer time.

Yes, it doesn't feel right for a 20 year old game. But I rather would pay about 10-15$ a year and keep playing one of the most awesome games than having them say "well, development stopped" in a few months.

That being said, if the yearly cost would be more than a full-priced game, I'd quit and play a full-priced game lol.

Darq wrote: 3 years ago

The only thing i see that could happen is payed character slots and/or stash tabs.

ngl, id pay. id pay so much for these. D:

I completely agree with everything Trollwut said.

It wouldn't even be "development money" to add new items.

You could re-use the graphics and just change the name and stats.

Someone please correct me if im wrong.

BillyMaysed wrote: 3 years ago

Darq wrote: 3 years ago

The only thing i see that could happen is payed character slots and/or stash tabs.

ngl, id pay. id pay so much for these. D:

I think i would pay too, i like collecting but hate to have mules. I want to start HC but not at the cost of my SC Chars.

I would pay to auto skip the 3 intros blizzard's forcing down my throat every single game start, oh boy, would I pay...

I'd pay to have a spam free lobby.

I think it's just nicer to realize that you can not spend money on something that pleases you. Our life has become too expensive now, and it's nice to realize that you can save $5. I love FIFA and was looking forward to releasing the latest version of the game, but I didn't have to spend money on it. I owed when on the site cdkeysforgames.com there will be keys to the game and now quietly enjoying your favorite game for free. It is a pity that there are unlikely to be new versions in light of recent events.