Blizzard facing backlash after Diablo: Immortal announcement

Blizzard faced backlash from their core fanbase at BlizzCon today after the announcement of Diablo: Immortal, a mobile game.

Many fans were hoping to receive news of Diablo 4 or improvements to the popular Diablo 3 title. However, after the announcement, fans made their disappointment clear online by disliking the Diablo: Immortal trailer on YouTube. 

A fan even questioned developer Wyatt Cheng, Senior Technical Game Designer of Diablo 3, on-stage. The fan asked “Is this an off-season April Fool’s joke?” The video clip became viral on Twitter and it received polarized reactions. Some believed that the fan was rude to ask such a question and that there was a better way to voice out his frustration. Others believe that it was only right for the fan to try and make a point across to the developers.

Many are also accusing that Diablo: Immortal is just a reskin of a popular Chinese mobile game called Endless of God. This notion is especially reinforced by the fact that the developer of Endless of God, NetEase, is the same developer for Diablo: Immortal. Videos comparing the two mobile games are also surfacing where both have the same assets and user interface layouts.

Since the announcement, there have been publications who have given Diablo: Immortal a shot. There have been mixed reviews, but mostly mildly positive ones with sites like Mashable and VG247 defending the game.

No news yet on when Diablo: Immortal will be released on iOS and Android.

Nadine Pacis

Never talk to Nadine about good games with good narratives. She may never stop talking. Other topics she can't stop talking about: games in general, really, consumer tech, and pop culture.