Diablo Immortal Whales Fall Into In-Game Debt After Buying Third-Party Orbs, Restricts Them From Group Content

Diablo Immortal, the mobile ARPG by Blizzard that has a deeply-seated whale issue, high prices has resulted in players seeking cheap third-party Eternal Orbs to counteract the prices of the in-game store. However, none of the players buying the Eternal Orbs expected a negative balance value when logging into the game, restricting them from joining parties and participating in group content.

Diablo Immortal's subreddit has several posts reporting the massive Eternal Orbs debt kerfuffle, which reportedly goes as high as -600K, according to a Reddit user. En masse purchases for 7200 third-party Eternal Orbs at $10 have quickly turned into a supposedly coordinated mass refund wave by scammers that set the whales back by miles.

Due to their negative balance now, affected players are punished by losing the ability to join parties or do group activities in rifts and dungeons unless they repay their debt. Purchasing more Eternal Orbs through the in-game store is the only way to relieve their debt status. Talk about a rock and a hard place.

Shia, one of the game's top Battlegrounds Wizards, is one such player affected by the illegitimate purchases, posting a screenshot of a -2,491,025 orb balance. In an interview with jtisallbusiness, known for dropping 100K on in-game microtransactions and unable to play PvP, Shia explained there was a price creep for the third-party Eternal orbs: "In the beginning, it was $20 [per 7200 Orbs], but it went up to about $50." When asked if they would continue playing Diablo Immortal, Shia says, "I think I will quit."

Another called paleblood on the game's subreddit stated, "if there was a reasonable price for the eternal orbs, I bet many wouldn't resort to buying for cheap." Following that, a Reddit user replied, "if there was a reasonable price for orbs, people would still find a way to buy them cheaper," which may be true. In the end, the situation has potentially burned the whales experiencing this setback and may contribute to a small dip in player activity.

We all understand what happened to these players is part of the risk associated with going to illegitimate sources, but does making the in-game store items cheaper solve anything? Let us know what you think.

Note: Activision Blizzard is still under investigation by the state of California for serious harassment charges. CEO Bobby Kotick is alleged to have known about such actions within his company – and performed some himself – and shielded the perpetrators from consequences.