Diablo Immortal: The Eternal Conflict of Mobile Games and Other Platforms
The classic and undying Diablo has finally made its way to the mobile gaming industry through the form of Diablo Immortal. The game was revealed at Blizzcon 2018 and was met with an overwhelming amount of backlash. Blizzard was caught off-guard with the feedback but will continue to push forward with more mobile games in the future.
Blizzcon 2018 Backlash and the future of Mobile Gaming for Blizzard
The Diablo franchise originated from a series of PC games that loyal fans have followed throughout the years, and the backlash is understandable. Players often complain about the difficult touch screen controls on mobiles, half-baked character or world designs, and microtransactions but these are nuances that can be encountered on other platforms as well.
However, companies are seeing the light or the money in mobile games, as mobile revenue makes 50% of the global game market. In my opinion, most people have a smartphone nowadays, carrying it with them all the time, so why not bring Diablo to smartphone users?
What to Expect from Diablo Immortal
Diablo Immortal is a freemium hack and slash RPG co-developed with NetEase. NetEase also made Identity V and Omyoji, and the company should be held with the highest expectations as they are already veterans in the mobile gaming industry.
Diablo Immortal will include Barbarian, Necromancer, Demon Hunter, Wizard, Crusader and Monk for the character classes to choose from. Classes will have 12 skills or more, with the ability for you to assign any five of them at one time to an “active skill button.” The game will feature 9 outdoor zones once launched and hopefully will receive updates as soon as possible.
As a fan of the Diablo series, I don’t mind the direction Blizzard is taking for the game. Mobile games are everywhere, and it won’t be going away for a long time. Fans are probably disappointed with the lack of Diablo 4 announcements.
The first downside I can see for this port is the possibility of low-quality graphics from what we’re used on PCs and the imminent expensive microtransactions that are sad but oh so tempting. Lastly, what if the game implements the annoying Stamina system? For a game like this, it doesn’t sound appealing at all.
Despite all the backlash, it’s still something to look out for and here’s to Blizzard for making a bold choice.