Diablo Immortal – Blizzard’s “Evil” Game
Genre: Action RPG | Platform: iOS, Android | Release: 1st half of 2022
This is Diablo Immortal: It is Diablo for mobile. The player should do with a touchscreen and their thumbs what they have been doing since 1997 with a mouse and keyboard: Fight through a hellish world, loot and level up, be happy, and smash giant demons.
Diablo Immortal will offer 6 classes: Barbarian, Wizard, Monk, Necromancer, Demon Hunter, and Crusader.
The mobile game is expected to bring instanced dungeons for 4 players, social features, and support for guilds. The story of Diablo Immortal takes place between Diablo 2 and 3.
This is how development has gone so far: Diablo Immortal is being developed by Blizzard with their Chinese partner NetEase and was presented at BlizzCon 2018. At that time, everyone was waiting for the announcement of Diablo 4, and the hall was full of PC players, thus the announcement of a mobile game was received incredibly poorly:
- One person even stood up and asked Blizzard if this was a “late April Fool’s joke”
- A Blizzard employee asked the booing fans what was wrong with them. Did they not have smartphones?
Both scenes went viral and early shaped the probably unfair image of a “game that no one wants.”
The collaboration between NetEase and Blizzard seems a bit off. It seems as if NetEase has long since finished their part of the work on Diablo Immortal, but Blizzard claimed that the game is still in “full production.”
At BlizzCon 2019, there was then an update on the game, they had a 4th class and new zones ready.
But somehow Blizzard seemed almost ashamed of Diablo Immortal at BlizzCon 2019, avoiding talking about it on stage. Officially, to avoid any confusion with Diablo 4, which was presented prominently there. It seemed as if Diablo Immortal was the “evil game” that one locks in their room when guests are visiting.
For some reason, Blizzard still hasn’t provided a schedule for the beta or release of Diablo Immortal, they are speaking very little about the game after the backlash in 2018. However, Blizzard emphasizes how important Diablo Immortal is to them.
In December 2020, a technical alpha started, which testers were allowed to talk about. Some testers were genuinely enthusiastic about Diablo Immortal.
In April 2021, another alpha test began for players in Australia and some selected influencers, where the new class Crusader was tested, and there are endgame content to discover.
This shows that Blizzard is still pushing the game forward, after they almost ignored it at BlizzCon 2021.
In August 2021, there was a setback for Diablo Immortal: Blizzard suddenly postponed the mobile game to 2022. One could speculate that this is also linked to the sexism scandal at Blizzard. Officially, they state that more time is required to incorporate feedback and to refine Diablo Immortal.
In April 2022, it seems that we are finally moving into the hot phase. Blizzard invited MeinMMO to a big interview and is ramping up PR. There are rumors of a release in June, but officially this is not yet confirmed.
This is Diablo Immortal at best: A fully-fledged Diablo on mobile, with complex gameplay systems, action-packed gameplay for the short breaks and excellent production values. That’s roughly what Blizzard also assured us in the interview.
Mobile is clearly the focus that Activision has set out for financial reasons, and Blizzard is now following. With Diablo Immortal, they want to make a hit in Asia but also entice core gamers in the USA and Europe to mobile gaming. Therefore, Diablo Immortal is extremely important to Blizzard, and this is probably why they are taking their time with it.
Just like Call of Duty Mobile was a huge success for the company, Diablo Immortal is supposed to follow.
The first reports from the alpha are providing fans with hope.
This is Diablo Immortal at worst: A clunky 08/15 affair that does not differentiate itself from comparable mobile games. Mobile action RPGs from China are as common as white loot in Diablo games; wherever you look, you can see one. They all follow the same gameplay conventions: It won’t be enough to take this pattern and slap a “Diablo skin” over it. Blizzard will achieve nothing in Asia with that and will once again have to endure mockery from core fans in the West.
Diablo Immortal needs unique gameplay features; the game must be polished and completed when it launches.
If Blizzard fails to bring the Diablo feeling with loot, story, and atmosphere to mobile, they could damage their image and brand.
This is what we can expect in 2022: We can expect the release. Diablo Immortal is overdue; the gameplay from the beta has been extensively tested and praised in recent months.
It is suspected that Activision Blizzard postponed the release in 2022 mainly because Blizzard had to deal with the sexism scandal in the second half of 2021, and a release of Diablo Immortal would have gotten lost in the general outrage about the company.
From everything we know, Diablo Immortal should be launching soon.
Here you can find the latest information on Diablo Immortal.
