In the West, Diablo Immortal has been released since June 2nd. However, in the crucial market of China, the release has now been postponed indefinitely. Blizzard’s partner there, NetEase, has co-developed the game, but is now announcing a delay due to the desire to improve the game. There are also apparent issues with the Communist Party.
This is the situation:
- Any western company wanting to do business in China needs a local partner, otherwise they won’t receive a license for anything. This “forced partnership” has been in place since 2008 between Blizzard and the company NetEase, and the connection has been strengthened over the years.
- NetEase distributes all of Blizzard’s games in China and made a bad impression during the “Blitzchung” affair. When they acted on behalf of Blizzard against a Hearthstone pro who had spoken critically about China’s Hong Kong policy, it was attributed to Blizzard, and they had to apologize at BlizzCon.
- Together with NetEase, Blizzard developed the mobile game, Diablo Immortal, starting in 2018. For a long time, it was assumed that China would become an important market for Diablo Immortal. NetEase also reported that they had already received 15 million pre-registrations. But now there are problems.
Release of Diablo Immortal in China is postponed at short notice
This is now the announcement. As NetEase itself announces, the release of Diablo Immortal in China was originally planned for Thursday, June 23, but is now postponed indefinitely.
On Sunday, NetEase said they wanted to make some changes, including ‘improvements to the gameplay experience’ and ‘various optimization adjustments.’
They apparently want to unlock the game for more devices and make the online experience “smoother and better.”
They are also preparing a “thank you package” with legendary gear to reward Chinese gamers for their patience (via di.blizzard).
We show you the 6 classes of Diablo Immortal – in our tier list for Diablo Immortal you can see who is currently leading:
Social media account banned 3 days before release
What could also be behind the postponement? This is not entirely clear at the moment. As the news agency Reuters reports, NetEase actually received the necessary license for the distribution of Diablo Immortal back in February 2021.
However, in recent months new regulations and rules have come into force that have resulted in no new games being approved in China for nine months. They are talking about a “freeze.”
It was already noticeable that Diablo Immortal received a license so easily: after all, the game involves killing demons and witches, themes that are problematic for Chinese games because violence and religious content are considered sensitive.
Diablo 3 already had to be significantly altered for China.
Is a comic bear to blame for the trouble, or is it the pay-to-win issue?
This could also be problematic: The game’s social media account on Weibo was banned 3 days before the release and cannot make public postings anymore.
However, it is not entirely clear what happened. There are rumors that the Weibo account may have posted a reference to “Winnie the Pooh” (via resetera): The comic bear is considered taboo in China. He is seen as a negative reference to Communist leader Xi Jinping.
This is apparently due to a comic in which the portly and somewhat clumsy Winnie the Pooh was compared to Xi Jinping during an appearance with Barack Obama.
Other people suspect, however, that the Chinese community of Diablo has reported Diablo Immortal to the Chinese government so often for “unfair gambling elements” that it led to trouble.
Even if Diablo Immortal is not yet released in China, the game is already performing excellently:
