Blizzard Entertainment has unveiled their next Diablo game, Diablo Immortal, which will be a mobile MMORPG handled by NetEase Games, a world leader in the mobile F2P industry. This announcement came with two trailers and the opening of pre-registration, as well as an unexpected wave of opposition.

Description of Diablo Immortal

A new collaboration between Blizzard and NetEase, Diablo Immortal is the first ever Diablo game to be designed for mobile, touchscreen devices. This new chapter in the saga is to take place between the end of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction and the beginning of Diablo III. Diablo Immortal is advertised as an MMORPG, featuring no less than six iconic and highly customizable Diablo character classes -Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer, and Wizard- with more to come. The scale of MMO gameplay isn’t that clear yet but players will have many opportunities to meet and socialize while wandering the wilds of Sanctuary, or while upgrading gear, crafting items, or forming groups in the city of Westmarch, Diablo Immortal’s central hub, before taking part in dynamic events across unique public zones, and hacking and slashing their way through instanced dungeons.

‘Diablo Immortal takes the series’ dark, gothic fantasy world of Sanctuary and inimitable Diablo gameplay, and puts it in your pocket,’ said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment. ‘With their incredible passion for Diablo and proven mobile expertise, the development team has spawned an ultra-responsive and breathtakingly beautiful mobile game, and we can’t wait for players to get their hands on it.’

Diablo Immortal isn’t advertized as free-to-play or free to download, but it being handled by NetEase Games and granting free access to a reward-based pre-registration process, rather than pre-order access, leads us to think that the game will be free-to-play like the vast majority of “such” mobile games.

Diablo Immortal Pre-registration

Players who are eager to join the fight are invited to visit diabloimmortal.com, in order to pre-register for special rewards and be among the first to experience Diablo Immortal when it launches. Pre-registered players will be eligible to participate in future beta tests and earn in-game rewards, on top of receiving news and updates as they come.

Reception Backlash

Diablo: Immortal was anything but a positive announcement for a number of people, who seem to have recognized the UI features of an existing NetEase game in the footage provided for Diablo: Immortal, calling it a “reskin” of Crusaders of Light. These guys surely have an eye for spotting anything and their passion naturally translates into many loud reactions, which read “We can’t be fooled!”. They may have hit a sensitive spot right there as Blizzard repeatedly stressed, in their response to Polygon, that Immortal is just one of the Diablo games currently in development at Blizzard, before assuring everyone that Diablo: Immortal has been created from the ground up.
In any case, the gameplay footage and screenshots provided so far do display a mobile game that looks original and Diablo-ish.

Stay Tuned

For the game’s latest news and updates, follow Diablo Immortal on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
More information and assets can be found on their site at diabloimmortal.com.