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Diablo Immortal Playtesters Are Loving the Game So Far, Activision Says
During a recent earnings call, Activision claimed that those who are testing Diablo Immortal internally are showing a "hugely enthusiastic" response to the mobile ARPG. Those outside the company have also had a strong emotional response to the game, but not in the way that Activision and Blizzard would probably like to share with investors. First revealed at Blizzcon 2018 to a chorus of boos by the PC gaming faithful in the audience, Diablo Immortal was the talking point of the show for all the wrong reasons. While fans would get the PC focused Diablo they wished for during 2019's showcase, many still remember the mobile game's premiere as a sign of a decline in Blizzard's sterling reputation.
Diablo Immortal isn't the only hit Blizzard has taken in recent times. In the same year as Diablo Immortal's debut, there was the disastrous and buggy launch of the Battle for Azeroth expansion for World of Warcraft, and event that may have influenced the delays seen by this year's delayed expansion, Shadowlands. Earlier this year, another controversial launch came in the form of Warcraft 3: Reforged, a new version of an old classic that forces those wishing to make custom content to hand over all their rights to the game's developer via a strict EULA. Outside of games, the company has also gotten into political hot water over banning eSports player Blitzchung over opinions that would only be seen as controversial in China.
Considering all that and the reasons many assume as to why these things keep happening, it may fitting that the reveal of internal praise for Diablo Immortal comes from Activision President and COO Daniel Alegre rather than anyone at Blizzard. Speaking to investors in a call transcribed by SeekingAlpha and sharedy by MP1st, Alegre revealed that internal playtesters saw a "hugely enthusiastic response" recently to the mobile Diablo game, saying that it would soon enter external regional testing. This likely means that it's still a ways off from hitting North America, but players will soon be able to see plenty of footage of the game popping up on YouTube if they're interested.
Daniel Alegre also mentioned in his talk that Diablo Immortal was one of several Blizzard mobile titles under development. This was confirmed at Blizzcon 2018 alongside the reveal of Diablo Immortal, but none of those games have been revealed as of yet. Blizzard does have a mobile client for Hearthstone out on Android and iOS at the moment, but mobile takes on anything from Overwatch to Starcraft could be in the works for the future.
It's no surprise that the head of Activision would heap praise onto Diablo Immortal's progress internally. It's also not really evidence that the game can rise above the huge number of mobile games that come and go without leaving much of a mark. When a company as iconic as Nintendo can't really make a splash in the mobile market despite multiple attempts, it's going to be hard for any established gaming player. Especially when they sport a fanbase that loathes the concept of gaming on phones so deeply.
