Chinese fans tire of waiting for Blizzard’s Diablo Immortal
The mobile Diablo game will get an update at Blizzcon, but clones fell flat in China and reception in the West has been poor
Remember Diablo Immortal?
The announcement of a mobile version of the hit Diablo series was met by a chorus of boos and anger at last year’s Blizzcon. Hardcore gamers in the West took Diablo Immortal as a sign that Blizzard was focusing on China’s mobile market instead of them.
Meet NetEase, China’s second-largest game publisher
With there still being no hint of a release date, fans in China are perplexed. Some see it as a good sign that Blizzard is taking the time to improve the game, after its disastrous debut; at one point, the game’s trailer had over a million dislikes on YouTube. But the long wait could also be hurting what’s seen as Diablo Immortal’s target market.
When World of Warcraft Classic launched, more than 1 million people logged in to relive the glory days of the original game. And the Warcraft movie that was seen as a massive flop in the West brought in US$225 million at the box office in China.
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