This is major. Their reasons along with the realization I’ve had this week playing every day since launch, I’ve decided to delete it as well.
If they ever make it a true, authentic Diablo experience I’ll come back.
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Good read about their reasoning. More and more streamers and loud social media people need to voice their opinions. I hit that same wall where im thinking to myself ‘why am i doing this?’ I cant even bring myself to log in for the immortal dailies and im in the top clan on my server.
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meh, those guys are still lame for pushing it so hard until it didnt make financial sense to support anymore. they arent gamers anymore, they are just in it for the money.
yeah but unlike Blizzard at least they were willing to admit they were wrong instead of continuing to lie about it
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https://immortal.maxroll.gg/news/maxroll-discontinues-diablo-immortal-branch
- Money Isn’t Everything. Even with a poor reception, our Immortal Branch would continue to generate revenue on our end. Life is about more than money though, it’s about doing the right thing. As said throughout this post, we are sticking to our core values. We are walking away from 1.5 years of collective work, time, missed events and family obligations, development time and expensive costs to do the right thing by us and you.
It would have made financial sense for them to continue with the branch. Instead they ended the branch because they valued their principles / integrity more than the money.
They also explained, in the article and in Raxx’s latest video, about just how wildly different the game was between alpha, early beta and release (beta), i.e. the caps that were introduced and the level of monetisation.
They’re walking away from a year and a half’s time and effort, and a guaranteed revenue stream, on principle.
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i’m sure their revenue from when the game was hot and juicy for 1 week exceeded their expenses, but the future was grim and the game is falling off a cliff and would surely become an anchor on their revenue going forwards.
i mean it’s a clever P.R move that has been done successfully a thousand times, but it’s also a lie and a choice done to save money and make money.
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I don’t blame someone who put so much time and effort in during testing and to set up the website section for giving it a proper try. Especially when they are someone who loves the genre and generally play games all day for a living.
And in raxx’s example, he specifically said in his one video that he only kept playing as long as he did because he promised his friends he will go to the first one they can try and become Immortals.
i agree, but my issue is that for a month they were fully aware of everything and how bad it was, yet still supported it. Even 1 week in they were getting stomped by whales, i would have supported their walkout even then, but a month later? Nah…
Only when the game is massively hated, overrun by bots, and the active player population is dead, they still waited until it was clear the game wasn’t likely going to China anytime soon to discontinue support.
it was about the money all along. I dont fault them for that, but i dont support that either.
i do hope they learned their lesson, because they GOT USED HARD by the developers with their free testing. Maxroll got catfished…
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TLDR: It is easy to lob smack from the cheap seats as a mostly anonymous forum poster who isn’t considering the complicated business or legal matters at hand when speaking with only a few minutes thought at most, and who is free from being concerned with any potential consequences, personal or professional.
That’s a very arbitrary line you’ve drawn. In a game’s lifespan, and in the business they’re in, a month is nothing. Also, they were actually holding their own for a week or so, until the whales really got going. Moreover, from the video and full official statement, I think they were likely waiting a couple weeks to see if the public outrage would be the the tipping point and finally have the effect that all the feedback from testers clearly had not. As both Raxx and the statement said, they have decided that Blizzard is never going to make the necessary changes.
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc, is that you? Just because the one followed the other does not mean that was their reason, or that there is a direct, much less 100% causal relationship. It was about the unpopularity in a way, just not like you’re suggesting.
If fans had truly loved it, they might have stuck around despite their deep misgivings and personal dislike for the game because, those are their customers as well and they’re here to give them content and news on stuff those people enjoy.
It sounds to me like even that is doubtful due to the level of intensity in gambling. The way Raxx spoke about that issue, it seemed to genuinely bother him, especially the fact that it was introduced late in the process, and then, upon being given feedback, when they made changes at release, it was for the worse. Like many, I think they were disturbed by just how predatory it was, even by mobile gaming standards.
As someone whose job involves evaluating the credibility of peoples’ statements, I did not sense any evasion, dissembling, or mendacity in the delivery or content, unlike Blizzard’s often acrobatic, lawyerly exercises with disclosure and honesty (one professional does have to admire another professional’s work though). So unless you have anything more than the correlation of coincidental timing (which again, it hasn’t even been a full month), this is just lobbing smack from the cheap seats, and fallacious slander.
__________________________________________
Speaking of which, that also factors into both their statement and the timing. Maxroll is a business. It’s not just a bunch of dudes having fun. They produce content for their customers (us), and their popularity has made that into a good business for them. It has also granted them insider access in the industry. But those early testing gigs undoubtedly come with lots of signed agreements.
Given the way the statement was very carefully crafted, and Raxx’s obvious preparation in his statement, this decision is one that has been in the making for some time. As he said, they’ve spent a lot of time talking about it, and anyone who has ever had a group project knows that can be difficult to nail down.
Add to all that, they are a business and so is Microsoft/Activision/Blizzard, and they are the little fish. They, rightfully, have to tread very carefully so as not to do anything that breaches their past testing agreements, or current agreements (that they may or may not have).
Why does that matter? Because, if Maxroll isn’t careful, they can be slapped with a trade libel lawsuit by Blizzard for “dishonestly” trashing their new game, and even if they say the right things, they can still end up fighting it for years, unless they are VERY careful in how they phrase it, so they can hopefully get it tossed within a year or so (and even that will cost them some fancy lawyers and court fees).
Worse, Microsoft hasn’t even completed their purchase yet of the company, and back in mid-May they were saying the deal wouldn’t be closed until early 2023. Why does that matter?
Because in addition to the above basis for a lawsuit, they could get hit by Microsoft as well, potentially, for devaluing the brand when they’re already locked in to purchase it (at least unless Blizzard violates the purchase agreement first). It’s one thing to devalue it before they make their offer. But once Blizzard accepted the offer, they are both obligated to perform upon the terms as they stand, barring some specific breach by the other side that permits one or the other to walk away. So now Microsoft has to perform on that contract and you (arguably) just made the thing they’re buying worth less, and they cannot even use that to get a better price on the deal.
That’s called tortious interference. And when it’s a 69 billion dollar deal, Maxroll wants to be really careful how they decide to say what they say. You say they waited a month, and they were milking it. I say that was bare minimum due diligence as a business in that industry when they could end up squashed by giants. Microsoft could argue that Maxroll, as a major influencer, robbed them of a couple billion dollars in value. I doubt these guys have 250 million they can afford to pony up, never mind a couple billion.
If you’re unclear on what constitutes tortious interference, depends on the state, but the general definition is:
Tortious interference is a common law tort allowing a claim for damages against a defendant who wrongfully interferes with the plaintiff’s contractual or business relationships.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/tortious_interference
California, where Blizzard & Microsoft both are headquartered, and where jurisdiction assuredly rest, recognizes negligent tortious interference. To wit:
In California, there are three types of tortious interference:
Interference with prospective economic advantage, or IWPEA
Interference with contractual relationships, or IWCR
Negligent interference with economic advantage (but not for contractual relationships)
Generally speaking, the first two types of interference (IWPEA and IWCR) are the most common. IWPEA interference and IWCR interference differ only in that the IWCR occurs when the interfered-with parties had a written or oral contract by which they were operating. The IWPEA involves parties who have been cooperating for economic advantage without a contract of any sort, though one may be pending.California is also unique in that it also recognizes that outside interference does not have to be intentional. It can happen when the interfering party either had knowledge of the economic relationship it was disrupting, or should have had knowledge, and acted negligently. California courts, however, do not recognize negligent claims when a contract exists.
Sometimes, attorneys will sue under both the IWPEA and the IWCR, so if one fails, the other may still prevail.
https://www.hanley-law.com/blog/understanding-tortious-interference-claims-california/
That all aside, they want to be careful that they don’t go so overboard in what they say, that they end up burning every bridge with Blizzard. They’re going to want access on D4, and possibly other titles from the combined behemoth. They also don’t want to be blackballed in the industry in general. If the whole industry decides that they don’t like this kind of honest review from the influencers and content creators, they could end up cut off from insider access, which would be a death sentence for their business.
You think they should’ve done this one week in when, they likely had to:
- first meet amongst themselves to discuss their views,
- then decide on a course of action,
- then consult with lawyers (I hope for their sakes), who will slow down any sudden actions to make sure they’re in the clear, and then, finally,
- draft a statement,
- run it by the lawyers (I hope), and then
- decide when to call it.
I’m suprised they managed to gracefully bail THIS fast.
Of course it is about money. This is their livelihood, not their hobby. And I don’t know what their revenue looks like, but I doubt that they are each taking home pockets stuffed with millions, after they’ve paid all their bills.
It was an unsuccessful partnership, I wouldn’t say they got any more used than they used their access right back. The whole point for them to have the access is Blizzard gets professional gamer feedback and QA testing, and the testers get the access that allows them to be the first with the guides that the players are looking for. Like any trade magazine, the people with the best access who are first up with the best material, will be the reliable source for everyone. It’s not enough to provide good or even the best guides, but you have to be out first, because the first people are where everyone continues to go, because they have the inside track. They used Blizzard too, but this was just, for them, a failed venture.
As Raxx stated, they put in many hours on this because, the initial tests were VERY promising despite their hesitancy when it was first announced. I honestly wouldn’t have blamed them if they tried to hold out two more months in the naive hope that Blizzard would realize that the one area you don’t want to be groundbreaking or pushing the lines of what’s possible is with video game gambling.
I think this was bold (Blizzard has got to be seething), and despite what you may think, honest as hell. You haven’t seen dishonest until you’ve sat in on asbestos depositions, wrongful death testimony, and seen some internal memos from big corporations and government agencies. I’ve seen liars and dissemblers, and this isn’t that, in my opinion.
I appreciate that they gave up the money even before it became a loss, despite all the work they put in, and that they did so primarily because of just how predatory the gambling is. They put their customers first, which is more than can be said for blizzard.
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If anyone is milking DI dry, it’s Asmongold. Look at the amount of videos he made trashing the game, and reacting to others trashing the game.
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Maxroll ditching D:I is good, saw that one coming… think I even mentioned they should do that in some thread around here a week ago or so 
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i dont know which maxroll.gg person you are, least you could do is be honest of your association, but regardless i’ll just state it IS A FACT THAT
Within the first week, every big streamer was mocking the pay2win extremities
Every unsponsored gaming media wrote about the outrageous pay2win greed
Every associated forum was meme’ing, trolling, and blasting the games pay2win
Every unsponsored rating site was setting record low ratings.
You name it, this game was getting 
'ed on
By the end of the first WEEK it was unquestionable how pay2win trash this game was.
By the end of the 3rd week, EVERY big streamer had quit the game except maxroll.gg. Then the bad news on China comes in and suddenly maxroll.gg doesnt think the game is fun anymore.
IF ANYONE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER, it was you maxroll boys. You spent so much time in beta, and by day ONE you knew more than anyone else in the world how much they changed and manipulated the game towards predatory pay2win. Yet you said nothing negative, only positive good boy streams for daddy blizzard while everyone else was getting scuzzammed. shame on you, maxroll. you were supposed to be for us gamers, but you’re only about the money.
I’m flattered you would include me as a member of their august association, but no. 
We can add a false ad hominem of poisoning the well to your fallacies, and a two for one at that!
Quite clear you didn’t read the rest since you didn’t rebut my points, and seem to still labor under the delusion that 1 weeks is more than enough time to decide to end business line and gracefully back out of a quasi-business relationship.
Like I said, easy to lob smack as the anonymous, OFFICIAL Blizzard Forums troll.
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i dont have time atm, in a business meeting.
you threw the first insult.
~slithers out from under rock~ “Yessssss?”
Oh, so, where are all the corporate shills praising the game? Where’s the bell ends ready to chime in, “Well, I’ve never spent a dime and it’s fun!”
Those folks crack me up, ready to excuse omega-level corporate greed and predatory, anti-player monetization models so they don’t have to admit there’s a problem with what they like. Ah, good times. Good times.
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The phrase “mostly anonymous forum poster” isn’t an insult; it’s a fairly bland description. It would describe everyone here. I actually refrained from granting you your title in order to maintain objectivity. It says a lot that you read it into otherwise vanilla terms anyway.
Since you don’t seem to grasp the obligations of a business, I doubt very much you’re in a business meeting. LMAO. It’s like when Ron Johnson the other week tried to avoid reporters by pretending he was on the phone when his blank screen was obviously on camera
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You can turn of the screen while talking though.
theyre running out of excuses because 99% of the internet is all saying the same thing Blizzard dropped the ball big time and they cant find any logical arguements to defend it any longer so theyll just go silent and pretend all is fine
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This absolutely does not apply relative to maxroll in this case.
Not that it’s relevant to this discussion, but the full clip shows it was blank when he put it up to his face to begin with, not like he was already on it, and then it went dark. He wasn’t on it and then suddenly put it to his face.
Plus, they undoubtedly went back to their editing bay and upped the levels to see if there was truly any audio before running that clip. Hell, most people can usually hear if someone is being talked to from a few feet away, don’t need high end microphones to pick it up.
It was obvious and hilarious, even better than the hurriedly dashing into elevators or literally running down stairs to avoid questions.
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