Blizzard has announced that as part of a promotion for the upcoming action RPG Diablo 4, fans will be able to enter a competition to win access to cleaning services.
The next big date for Diablo 4 will be the start of the open beta on March 24-27; this will be available to any fan even if you haven't pre-ordered the game. But the free access isn't even the best part of this. Blizzard’s promoting the next stage of Diablo 4's launch by giving away over $20,000 / £16,322 / AUS$29,942 in cleaning services so you can indulge in the hellish RPG without needing to clean up around your house.
Blizzard announced this, along with a few rules and regulations, in a tweet. While you can read most of these for yourself, it’s important to note that the end date for entering the competition is March 23 at 12pm ET / 9am PT / 4pm GMT / 3am ACT.
The #DiabloIV Open Beta is coming. We're giving away over $20k in @Thumbtack services to take care of your Earthly duties while you descend into Hell.➡️ Comment your dreaded to-do list with #Diablo4theWeekend for a chance to win.RULES: https://t.co/xML8Y3ojDp pic.twitter.com/T69FdIi0v1March 20, 2023
All the time in the world
While this seems to be something of a joke promotion, honestly, the idea of someone coming around and cleaning my flat for free sounds pretty good, it may even be necessary to enjoy the RPG properly. Seeing how the closed beta went, you’ll probably need every second available just to get into a server.
The closed beta that began March 17 and lasted a few days was the first time fans got to play a new Diablo game in 10 years. While the waiting times and queues were reminiscent of Overwatch 2’s server mayhem at launch, it was a breath of fresh air once you got through the doors and played the RPG.
Hopefully, the open beta will go down even better than this, as Blizzard patched some problems visible in the closed beta. Thanks to this much-needed hotfix, the servers should be noticeably more stable for the open beta.
It gets stranger
$20,000 in cleaning services may seem like a strange jump at first from the hellish and angelic focus of Diablo 4, but this isn’t the weirdest promotion we’ve seen for an upcoming game.
Ubisoft once paid an actor to enter a bar in Auckland, New Zealand, covered in bandages and armed with a fake gun to promote the action stealth game Splinter Cell: Conviction. Luckily, no one was hurt in this dangerous stunt; however, bargoers were left shaken, especially after residents called the police to subdue the actor.
EA also threw its hat into the strange promotion ring for the action-adventure game Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. Due to the focus of this action title surrounding Venezuelan oil facilities, EA decided to give away $24,500 / £20,000 / AUS$36,677 in free fuel. The only problem with this was the promotion happened at a single gas station in London, causing gridlock and mass unrest.
So in the grand scheme of things, Blizzard’s promotion of Diablo 4 seems pretty harmless. As long as there are no secret fallen angels or demons in disguise, fans should be able to enjoy the open beta and a clean house all in one go.
