Action role-playing game Diablo IV wants fans to bleed for it. Really. The demon dungeon-crawler announced on October 20 that, for the next month, US-based players can donate their actual blood in exchange for in-game items and, ultimately, for the chance to win a liquid-cooled PC infused with more human blood.
It’s the Blood Harvest, developer Blizzard said in its reveal post, and it coincides with Diablo IV’s Season of Blood update. Until November 20, U.S. residents over 18 are able to log any blood centre donations they make on the official Blood Harvest website.
“Our goal is to harvest a total of 666 quarts of blood,” Blizzard writes, and donors receive in-game items based on collective effort, as the puddle of blood tints the nation.
Editor’s note: For the Aussies — a liquid quart is just shy of a litre. Converted from the inferior, unserious Imperial measurements the Americans insist on using, it’s roughly 946ml. Blizzard is looking to round up about 630L of blood. — David.
“Crimson-coated cosmetics will be unlocked upon hitting 33 percent, 66 percent, and 100 percent of our goal,” including several weapon cosmetics at 33 and a red-eyed, dappled horse mount at 100 percent. Those who are not eligible for blood donation, or those who live overseas, can otherwise reap in-game benefits “as we progress toward our donation goal,” Diablo shares on Twitter. Currently, Diablo is 39 percent of the way to its goal, meaning all Diablo players have access to new, red weapon skins.
Additionally, any adult in the U.S., regardless of donation status, will be able to enter in Blood Harvest’s grand prize sweepstakes: a liquid-cooled PC infused with “real human blood.” More practically, it will also consist of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 and an Intel Core i9 CPU. You’ll be able to enter to win the custom-built PC once Blizzard collects its 666 quarts.
Blood Harvest has a ghoulish quality to it, mainly because it’s being orchestrated by Blizzard. But there’s an ongoing and serious blood shortage in the U.S., the Red Cross said in September, and I’m at peace with Blizzard’s call-to-gamers in a crisis. I wonder where blood in the PC—which reminds me of when Romans would drink gladiator blood to get virile, or when rapper Lil Nas X’s sold $US1,000 bloody Nikes so people could look virile on Instagram—is sourced from; Kotaku reached out to Blizzard for comment. I’m hoping a blood-cooled PC will improve my KD.
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