Diablo’s planned mobile game Diablo Immortal has now been delayed until 2022.
Diablo Immortal is a new impending mobile entry in the Diablo franchise that was supposed to be released this year, but as the year draws to a close, it appears that the game will now be delayed until next year.
The mobile installment of this iconic franchise was first announced in 2018 and was initially negatively received by Diablo fans. The mobile game appears to effectively mimic the action role-playing gameplay of its predecessors, as seen by a Diablo Immortal closed alpha preview in April this year.
The game apparently effectively showcased the Diablo franchise in all its glory although fans complained of the “clunkiness” of the mobile controls.
Immortal places players in a secure neutral zone before sending them out into dangerous demon-infested zones as seen in the other Diablo installments. Varied character classes offer drastically different gameplay, which offers a lot of role-playing and replayability to the game.
Blizzard recently confirmed that the game was still on track for a 2021 release. A developer update however has now confirmed that the game will be delayed to the beginning of next year.
Blizzard stated in the update: “Following feedback provided by test participants of the Closed Alpha, our team has been tuning core and endgame features. For example, we’re iterating on PvP content like the Cycle of Strife to make it more accessible, alongside late-game PvE content like the Helliquary to make it more engaging.
We’re also working to provide controller support for those who want to play our game in a different way. However, these changes and additional opportunities to improve our gameplay experience will not be realized in the 2021 timeframe we had previously communicated. So, the game is now planned for release in the first half of 2022, which will allow us to add substantial improvements to the whole game.”
Some of the game systems highlighted in the update include Player VS Environment (PVE), Player VS Player (PVP), Controller support, and character progression.
Blizzard also mentioned that they are preparing for another upcoming limited test for the game later this year. This test will consist of improvement from what they learned from the closed Alpha and other community feedback. If you would personally like to share your feedback you can do so here, and they promise to “continue listening to your feedback as we aim to craft an awesome Diablo experience.”
This points to Blizzard doing all they can to deliver a comprehensive and “true to the series” game and it will be interesting to see the final product amidst all the legal turmoil the company has gone through recently.
Diablo Immortal will be coming to Android and iOS when it finally is released hopefully early next year.