Diablo Immortal, Blizzard’s mobile-focused spin-off of their world-famous Diablo series, has surpassed $500m in consumer spend.

According to new insights from game research firm data.ai, the game has surpassed 22 million downloads globally, with approximately $525 million in consumer spend, making it the 24th largest mobile game in terms of worldwide revenue since it launched. Notably, although previously China contributed the largest amount of lifetime spend at 37% of the total, the US has now surpassed that in 2023, contributing 33% of spending and bumping China down to only 19%.

It should also be noted that this figure doesn’t include revenue from the game’s PC port or third-party Android marketplaces, meaning that the game’s full revenue is even higher, with data.ai positing that the $1bn milestone is not long away, as Diablo Immortal now also ranks #3 on the list of top-earning mobile MMORPG titles.

Not an out-of-season April Fool’s joke

Despite an initially frosty reception upon its initial announcement at BlizzCon - exemplified by the now infamous video - it seems as if Blizzard has been vindicated with the success of Diablo Immortal. It’s also good news for NetEase as despite a very public break-up with Blizzard in terms of game publishing in China on titles like World of Warcraft, their deal regarding Diablo Immortal is very much secure, meaning they’ll benefit from their ongoing partnership for the foreseeable future.

What’s also notable is the US overtaking China in terms of user spend, it’s not clear if there was a substantial shrinkage in Chinese players - although given the frosty nature of the market in 2022 that can’t be discounted - but it still marks a major shift in the accepted wisdom that China is a revenue powerhouse.

With the release of Diablo IV, the mainline entry in the series, it seems natural that further interest in Diablo Immortal will follow.