With Diablo Immortal, Blizzard brings the first Diablo title to smartphones. This has caused quite a stir. We want to know from you whether you will play the mobile ARPG.
What is Diablo Immortal? Diablo is a popular RPG experience that has captivated fans for years. Initially, the Diablo titles were available on PC, and with the Ultimate Evil Edition of Diablo 3, they also made their way to consoles. Diablo Immortal is now the first Diablo experience to be released on smartphones.
Diablo Immortal is a mobile MMOARPG developed by Blizzard and NetEase.
What do we know about the gameplay? Together with friends, you will fight against nasty enemies, as is customary in Diablo. There are dungeons and legendary loot.
You can join groups or play alone. Six classes are available to you:
- Barbarian
- Monk
- Sorcerer
- Crusader
- Demon Hunter
- Necromancer
The gameplay trailer gives a first impression of what to expect from the mobile MMOARPG:
This is the controversy surrounding Diablo Immortal: Upon announcement, Diablo Immortal was not well received by fans. They are eagerly waiting for a new installment in the Diablo series, but had no desire for a mobile game at first.
The core of Diablo fans consists of PC gamers. Many do not want to transition to mobile, associating it with lower quality and cash shops.
The frustration was also related to the timing of the announcement. At BlizzCon 2018, fans eagerly awaited news about Diablo 4. Instead, there was no information provided. Instead, the Diablo panel fully focused on the mobile game Diablo Immortal.
A hate train started rolling, driven by disappointed Diablo fans. Blizzard expected some backlash, but not so much of it. One fan couldn’t believe that Blizzard was serious about all of this:
During a Q&A session, an audience member asked whether Diablo Immortal would also be released on PC. The developers stated that a PC version was not in the works, garnering boos from the crowd. That the Blizzard employees then also asked “Don’t you have phones?” quickly became a running gag.
Why it could still be cool: Diablo Immortal is supposed to bring fresh ideas and not rely on features like “Autoplay.” This is a core feature of many Asian RPGs, where characters automatically run while the player does not need to control them.
Developer NetEase has been a partner of Blizzard for 10 years and is not a “typical Asian developer.”
Moreover, Blizzard wants to focus more on mobile games. They will likely not implement this title half-heartedly, as this step with Diablo Immortal is very important for the company. We have explained to you the reasons why this game may turn out better than expected:
Our survey for you: We already asked you in November 2018 whether you would play Diablo Immortal. At that time, the announcement was still fresh, and opinions were heated. Now some time has passed, and some have changed their minds or at least want to give the game a chance. What about you?
Here should now appear a survey. If you can’t see it, just write your answer and reasoning in the comments.
Vote there for your answer and let us know in the comments how you feel about the game and what your reasons for or against Diablo Immortal are.
When Diablo Immortal is released is still unclear. There is hope for a release in 2019. The development looks promising:
