At a Q&A shortly after the reveal of Diablo Immortal, a dissatisfied fan asked,“is this an out-of-season April Fool’s Joke?” During the same Q&A, principal designer Wyatt Cheng - after being booed for saying it isn’t coming to PC - asked, “Do you guys not have phones?” This question has been the rallying cry for fans believing that Blizzard is out of touch.
Since then, Blizzard has been accused of everything from “killing Diablo” to removing dislikes from the cinematic and gameplay trailers. Moreover, there is even a petition to the get mobile game cancelled, but the striking remark may be that Blizzard wasn’t expecting this negativity. It was expecting a passionate response.
In a recent interview, Blizzard co-founder Allen Adham admitted it was expecting some backlash but not to this severity, with Adham acknowledging that “we know our audience here is passionately PC- and console-focused.” He also went on to say “we knew our audience here desperately wants to see and hear about one thing in particular.”
Since Blizzcon, Blizzard revealed that multiple Diablo games are in development, with one presumably being Diablo IV, but Blizzard doesn’t want to officially announce anything until its ready. “It’s all about game quality,” Adham stated.
Despite this unexpected backlash, Adham hopes that Blizzard can correct the course with its fans. Even if the rhetoric is a bit extreme, Adham believes it comes from passion: “they love what they love and want what they want.” While the announcement of multiple games being in development was intended to stay the rising flames and give fans a taste of what they want, many are likely still wondering about Diablo IV, which may cast a shadow over Immortal until something more solid is announced.
Diablo Immortal is planned to release exclusively on Android and iOS devices.
MORE: Complete Guide To Diablo Immortal: Tips, Tricks, Builds, And More
Source: Kotaku
