When Blizzard announced Diablo mobile spin-off Diablo Immortal, the response from fans was not a positive one. Instead, Diablo Immortal has been hit by a wave of negativity, with those who enjoyed the previous titles hoping for another main entry in the series instead of a mobile game.
Diablo Immortal was revealed by Blizzard during Blizzcon, and brings the franchise to iOS and Android devices. Set between the events of Diablo II and Diablo III, this new mobile entry places an emphasis on multiplayer gameplay and gives the choice of six classes: Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer, and Wizard. Although not a main entry in the series, Blizzard may well have hoped that Diablo Immortal would still get a positive reaction.
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However, that has not been the case. One search for the Netflix Diablo animated series. The response has been extremely negative, with many Twitter s sharing the video of one of the attendees at the event asking if the announcement of Diablo Immortal is an "out of season April Fool's joke," an example of which can be seen below.
Things don't get much better over on YouTube, either. At the time of writing, the cinematic trailer for Diablo Immortal has a vicious ratio of likes to dislikes, with 153,000 dislikes against a paltry 5,300 likes. The gameplay trailer isn't faring much better, either, with 72,000 dislikes against 3,400 likes, and the comments on both videos show just how angry some fans are about the announcement of Diablo Immortal as a mobile spin-off.
For a long time, video game fans have been wary of mobile games based on beloved properties, and sometimes this caution has been justified. One look at some of the worst examples of mobile games based on existing franchises, such as EA's Dungeon Keeper Mobile and Theme Park Mobile, shows that a big name can be used to shovel in terrible pay-to-win tactics. Command & Conquer Rivals, too, received a negative reaction on announcement, again based around an attempt to force a classic game into a mobile format without sight of another 'true' entry.
Unfortunately for Diablo Immortal, the clamour for a Diablo 4 announcement has been high, even though Blizzard dismissed the possibility of the sequel being announced at Blizzcon 2018. This has in part lead to even greater disappointment that Diablo Immortal is next in line, although Diablo 4 is undoubtedly still on the way. Hopefully, the end result will be closer to Pokemon GO or Minecraft: Pocket Edition than those worse mobile offerings - but players will have to give the game a chance first.