The microtransactions present in Diablo Immortal were (and might still be) considered bad to the point of being predatory. An elephant that is present in just about every free-to-play mobile title: microtransactions. It’s worth noting though, that Diablo Immortal is a free-to-play game, and downloading a free game doesn’t say much about the game’s actual quality.ĭiablo Immortal did receive some acclaim for its adaptation to mobile platforms as well as its graphics and gameplay, but the hideous elephant in the room sunk the experience for most players. It did well in terms of metrics, getting over 30 million downloads a few short weeks after launch. It took a long while for Blizzard to claw their way back from that debacle, and the eventual release in July 2022 was a mixed bag. To a crowd of booing fans, Wyatt Cheng (principal designer on Diablo Immortal) uttered a question that would elicit an even more powerful wave of boos and derision: “Do you guys not have phones?” Crowds of adoring PC and console gaming die-hards were abuzz as members of the Diablo development team took the stage, allegedly bringing big news.Ī mobile-exclusive Diablo game being developed by Chinese mobile developer NetEase, a developer conveniently known for making Diablo clones on mobile platforms.īlizzard could not have possibly predicted the sudden, swift backlash from that announcement.
Unfortunately, the high-flying success of Overwatch appeared to have made Blizzard think they could do no wrong in the eyes of their biggest fans.įast forward to Blizzcon 2018, and there were rumblings of a new Diablo game being announced at the event. Goodwill was restored with the Diablo 3 console releases in 20, and it all seemed like smooth sailing after Overwatch hit the scene in 2016. In hindsight, the auction house can be seen as a sort of precursor to the NFT systems that are trying to break into the industry now. Many took issue with this feature and it was eventually removed from the game a few years later.
The game used an auction house system that allowed players to buy, sell, and trade their in-game goods with other players. There was a slight stumble at the original launch of Diablo 3 back in 2012.
The sheer quality of these franchises has sustained Blizzard for almost 30 years, and when they added the hero shooter Overwatch to their roster, things seemed good for the company.īut all good things come to an end eventually… The company is known for titans of gaming like Starcraft, Warcraft and its MMO spinoff, and, of course, Diablo.
Blizzard was once an infallible pillar of the video game industry.
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