In a developer Q&A, Blizzard talked about Diablo Immortal at BlizzCon 2018. Although the show was full of gags and jokes, the laughs were absent. But fans are slowly warming up to the title.
Diablo Immortal was the big announcement at BlizzCon 2018 and the first presentation turned out to be a flop for the fans on site.
Hundreds of thousands of “downvotes” on YouTube, deleted comments, and numerous displays of hate towards the game certainly didn’t help. Also, the question, “whether Diablo Immortal is an April fool’s joke” visibly took a toll on the developers.
So there was great anticipation about what the developers had to say in the “Q&A,” where they could face the fans’ questions.
Dead silence during the presentation: A large part of the panel was taken up by the presentation of the different classes and the game world. Where one is otherwise used to cheers and joyful cries at BlizzCon, there was an almost eerie silence for Diablo – only rarely could fans be heard.
Jokes that nobody found funny: The presentation of the two developers, who had apparently rehearsed their script quite accurately, seemed almost surreal.
There were repeatedly small gags and funny anecdotes about the abilities or gameplay options – but laughter was completely absent.
Little Q&A, much talk: Overall, the panel took significantly more time for the game presentation than for the questions and answers.
But those were exactly what was needed to break the ice eventually and take some of the heat off Diablo Immortal’s poor initial hours.
Diablo fans on site reconciled
Fans show understanding: At least there was no longer much to see of open hostility in the Q&A. The first questioner took the floor and even apologized for the gentleman who had referred to the game as a joke.
Another fan “thanked the developers for the passion they put into Diablo, even amidst so much negativity.”
Blizzard reiterated that Diablo Immortal will be a “true Diablo experience.” They also have several other teams working on multiple other Diablo projects – patience is all that is needed.
Acceptance and reconciliation: By the end, it seemed that the players on site were able to come to terms with or even warm up to Diablo Immortal. At least the fans present will definitely give the title a chance – even if a “Diablo Mobile” still has a sour taste for them.
It seems that the 5 stages of grief were handled here in fast forward, and the first fans have already arrived at “acceptance.”
Maybe everything won’t be as bad as one fears – or what do you think?
How Blizzard has responded to the criticism of Diablo, we have revealed here.
