Diablo III has a long, storied history now of being a labor of love for Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., which launched the title in May 2012. From the outset, Diablo III was beset with server troubles at launch, and hosted an auction house that delivered a foray into the realm of Real Money Transactions (RMT) that ultimately failed and was removed from the game entirely.

Now, Blizzard is looking into bringing microtransactions to their game once again with patch 2.2.0, but it will do so avoiding money paid for in game items and instead aim for quality-of-life improvements and cosmetic items. The premium currency that players will purchase for money is called “Platinum” and can then be used to purchase cash shop items.

Another interesting twist on the cash shop is that Blizzard plans not to bring it to the Americas. The microtransactions are planned primarily for the Asian market, as a result will not be available in the Americas or Europe.

“We recognize that many players have expressed an interest in microtransactions being added to Diablo III,” writes Stephanie “Lylirra” Johnson, Community Manager at Blizzard. “While we may explore this model in some regions, we have no immediate plans to implement such purchases or the aforementioned features anytime soon for the Americas region.”

According to an update post in the Battle.net forums about Diablo III’s patch 2.2.0 here are the features–also note they will not apply to the European or American regions:

• A new currency called “Platinum”
• Timed experience boosts
• New cosmetic items including wings, non-combat pets, and character portraits
• References to stash space and character slot expansions
• A new UI interface that references the above information

The UI interface includes a new cosmetics window in the new interface allowing players to access their non-combat pets and other items (such as those wings) without taking up precious inventory space.

Dreaded microtransactions

The addition of microtransactions to any franchise is not without controversy. For some it is seen as a death knell to a long beloved franchise, especially coming right on the heels of Diablo III’s most recent Reaper of Souls expansion. To others, it’s a non-issue as the microtransction model has been explored thoroughly by the free-to-play market to date in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games such as Star Wars: The Old Republic, Star Trek Online, and Guild Wars 2 (which has a box price.)

Wherever Diablo’s audience falls, this seems like a move by Blizzard to take in the long tail on a multiplayer game that has been on the shelves for almost two years. The publisher could just be looking for a way to better monetize an aging game by letting dedicated players further pay into the game by gussying themselves up with bling.

Others, however, may see this as Blizzard taking advantage of players by making them pay for elements of a game they’ve already bought; while the other camp sees cosmetic items added by Blizzard as a way for fans to show their commitment.

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment, Diablo III