Diablo 4's latest microtransaction controversy is a $30 portal recolor: "You can get Palworld for this price"

Diablo 4
(Image credit: Blizzard)

Blizzard is charging $30 for portal colors in Diablo 4, and players are having none of it.

From the recent confusion surrounding cosmetic items in Diablo 4's Lunar Awakening event, to what players deemed "mathematically the scummiest" coin reward Blizzard could have given battle pass purchasers in Season 1, the action RPG has had its fair share of controversy when it comes to paid content. Now players are once again up in arms, this time over portal colors that cost "almost half the price of the game."

Over on the Diablo 4 subreddit, user Mwatki20 sparked the conversation by posting an image of the Dark Pathways pack, which offers town portals in orange, green, purple, yellow, and blue, as well as 1000 Platinum for a considerable sum. "$20 for different color portals? LMFAO Blizz!" they write.

$20 for different color portals? LMFAO Blizz! from r/diablo4

Amazingly, it's even worse than that. As another player points out, the bundle actually costs $29.99, making it "almost half the price of [Diablo 4]." Further down in the comments, user Cmionor rightly says that for the same sum, you could purchase Pocketpair's 'Pokemon with Guns' sensation: "You can get Palworld for this price…just sayin…"

Adding salt to the wound is the fact that each color is locked to a specific class. "It isn't even just that it costs money," says WhiteVoltage. "I wouldn't necessarily mind paying $5 or something for it. But $30 for a portal that I might get two classes' worth of use out of? Hell no. Hay-ell no." Rather than being outraged, Patient_Competion4 finds the situation downright laughable, saying, "The fact that they're CLASS LOCKED is hilarious to me lmfao."

As some other players point out, switching up your portal color is merely cosmetic and doesn't affect the gameplay in any way, so you can enjoy Diablo 4 just the same without having to cough up the additional dough. Though with so many voicing their dissatisfaction at the lofty price tag attached to items in what's already a full-price game, perhaps Blizzard will rethink how much it charges for these kinds of cosmetics in the future.

Check out our Diablo 4 DLC guide for everything we currently know about the game's first major expansion, Vessel of Hatred.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.

Read more
Overwatch 2 support hero Lucio
Blizzard hands out refunds for a $28 Overwatch 2 skin after making it a free Twitch drop just 24 hours post-release
The Trader’s Gilded Brutosaur Mount in World of Warcraft.
World of Warcraft got a $90 dupe of a mount worth $475 around 6 years ago for the MMO's 20th anniversary, and fans reckon Blizzard made at least $15 million off it
A screenshot shows Sahn-Uzal Mordekaiser absorbing red flame into his hands.
Doubling-down on League of Legends' worst PR disaster in years, developer Riot locks hotly anticipated cosmetic behind $240 gacha wall
Helldivers 2 Killzone skins
Arrowhead CEO addresses Helldivers 2 Killzone crossover prices, admits this didn't hit "the sweet spot" and says "we will persevere and improve things in due course"
Old School RuneScape
Two of the most loyal MMO communities grab pitchforks and cancel subscriptions after RuneScape survey mentions paying $350 a year, in-game ads, and paid player support
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft calls out Final Fantasy 14's house lottery nightmare as Blizzard details Midnight's player housing: "No lotteries, and no onerous upkeep"
Latest in Action Rpg
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 star hints Warhorse already has "a very good sense of what's happening next," and says he'll play Henry "as long or as little as anybody wants me to"
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
I've found my Assassin's Creed Shadows playstyle, thanks to this clip of Yasuke smashing dudes with a huge club instead of sneaking around
Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree
"A lot of the joy is in the difficulty": After spending 400+ hours dying 15,000 times in a painful Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree run, streamer admits challenges have "ruined normal gaming" for him
Atomfall screenshot
Atomfall dev doesn’t understand how massive development teams manage to keep organised: "How do you organize a game that has 2,000 people working on it?"
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Monster Hunter Wilds' final boss is even cooler than we thought: series experts point out attacks stitched together from iconic monsters throughout the series
Monster Hunter Wilds screenshot showing a chatacabra battling a hunter
Monster Hunter Wilds' new event quest is the best one yet: bully a Chatacabra for "a pile of Hard and Advanced Armor Spheres"
Latest in News
Nintendo Switch 2, dock and TV
Report: Nintendo analysts expect Switch 2 to cost at least $400, have a great launch lineup with new 3D Mario and Metroid Prime 4, and be the biggest console launch in history
Vampire Survivors
Vampire Survivors devs launch official wiki "free of ads, banners, and all of the junk that gets in your way," joining Stardew Valley and Terraria in community wikis with minimal intrusions
WalkScape
"Staying MTX and advertisement free is absolutely key": Almost 20 years later, RuneScape fan turns his MMO love into an old-school RPG where fitness is the grind
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition Magellan Man
Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding 2's Collector's Edition 15-inch Magellan Man is part of his studio's "spirit and soul," so the crew went to China to make sure it's good enough
Cabin Crew Life Simulator
"Success beyond expectations, earning over $100,000": This weird job sim made in a year would be torture for me, but it's changed its developer's life after "bitter failure"
The Toxic Avenger
Here's your first look at Peter Dinklage as the Toxic Avenger in ultra-violent, unrated, and long-delayed superhero movie remake