Blizzard is facing severe backlash following the reveal of its massively multiplayer mobile game Diablo Immortal at Blizzcon yesterday, with diablo fans calling the announcement a “slap in the face.” Most of the anger stems from Blizzard declaring in August that it had “multiple Diablo projects in the works,” fueling speculation that it would announce Diablo 4, or a Diablo remaster, at Blizzcon. He later clarified that he would not “be ready to announce all of our projects”, but many gamers still believe that building all that enthusiasm and then presenting a mobile game is “disrespectful”, especially for those who paid to attend.
The game’s cinematic trailer, above, has received more than 200,000 likes, compared to just 7,000 likes. The main comment, which according to user RedPill Shark has been deleted eight times, reads: “‘No king rules forever, my son.’ I have played your games for the past 20 years and I will never forget my first encounter with Thrall … Goodbye. You’ve changed, old friend. “
Diablo Subreddit
The two highest-rated posts on the Diablo subreddit call the mobile game “worse than nothing,” “a slap in the face” and accuse Blizzard of “spitting [ting] in the faces” of the community.
Another post notes how awkward the silence was at Blizzcon after the reveal, and a clip from a Q&A at the event in which a fan asks if the ad was “an off-season April Fools joke” has. gained traction on social media.
The fan who asked the question later posted on Reddit as user Dontinquire (h / t Eurogamer), saying that he felt “terrible” for Diablo’s lead designer Wyatt Cheng, who had to respond to the comment on stage. “I think he does an excellent job. The problem is that in a large organization, every member of the team represents the business,” Dontinquire said.
Crusaders of Light
Fans have also claimed that the game is a reskin of Crusaders of Light, another NetEase game, which is partnering with Blizzard on the development of Diablo Immortal. You can see some similarities between the interfaces in the clip below.
Blizzard has responded to this accusation. Speaking to IGN, Cheng said: “We have been working with NetEase Games from the beginning as a partnership to create everything in Diablo Immortal. We have artists on our side, they have artists on their side and we work together as a team, as a partnership. to create everything about Diablo Immortal. The settings, the characters, the abilities, the story. “
Cheng also addressed more general criticism of the revelation, saying, “I don’t think mobile should be a dirty word.”
“When it came to creating a new Diablo game, and this opportunity to partner with NetEase to do this, the technology is there, where our mobile phones are more powerful than ever and capable of delivering world-class gaming experiences,” he said.
